DDR HEARTS 2
by Darkness Shade
Summary: A year has passed since Sephiroth crashed DDR CITY's award ceremony and our friends seem to have no recollection of the last year. So with their friends scattered again and new and old villains on the rise, can our heroes once again save the universe?
1. Press Start To Play

**DDR HEARTS 2:**

**Press Start To Play**

**A/N: DDR HEARTS is finally back, and so am I after so long. Here's the continuation and well, I'll explain things in due time (just check the profile).**

**As always, I don't own what isn't mine, and those things that are copyright are copyright there own creators. Obviously, read any of the stories in my profile that come before this or you shall be lost.**

**---------------------**

Unknown Location

"Ryan…time to wake up."

An image was in Ryan's mind…an image of, well; he couldn't determine who or what it was because all he could hear was his name being shouted loudly.

Shaking his head, he opened his eyes and saw Dark and Reps.

"What the?" Ryan said, his voice sounding very tired, "Where are we?"

Apparently Ryan was in some sort of pod which had begun to open up.

"Ugh!" Ryan said, jumping out of the pod and stretching, "I feel like I've been asleep for five years."

"Heh, you always did say you wanted to catch up on your sleep one day if I recall." Dark said with a laugh.

"I don't mean to interrupt the brotherly bonding here, but do you know where we are?" Reps said.

"Huh…let's see…we defeated Ansemian. Had that big tournament on Earth and defeated, or sorta defeated, Sephiroth…and then…I remember this grassy plain." Ryan said, "It all goes blank after that."

"Hmmm…I can't seem to recall how we got into those pods either." Reps said, "That's rather mysterious."

"What I don't get is, where is Scott? And Charmy and the others?" Dark said, till a piece of paper fell out of his jacket, "Hello, what's this?"

"What did you find Dark?" Ryan asked.

"It says, "Thank Jessica." and has some scribble on it in Japanese. Guess that's Scott's way of saying he's okay as well." Dark said.

"But who's this Jessica?" Ryan asked, "I…I…This all so weird. Well, let's get out of here and find out where we are."

"Agreed." Reps said, finding a doorway and leading them out of it.

------------------------

Mansion Grounds

"Man, this place seems weird. Especially that sun, I do not like how it hasn't moved an inch." Ryan said.

"Hmmm…perhaps this world is caught in the in-between." Dark said, "That could explain the perpetual twilight."

"I just want to see if there are any people here." Reps said, "If we find people we can find some means to continue onwards."

"Right. We aren't getting anything done here." Ryan said, walking through the forest and coming upon a town.

Dark looked around and felt something about this town.

"Dark? You okay?" Reps asked, "You seem a little distracted."

"Oh, it's, it's nothing…I just…this place seems familiar for some reason." Dark said, "But I know I've never been here."

"Really? Good. I'm glad I'm not the only one getting this bizarre sense of déjà vu." Ryan said, "Well, let's go this way."

Ending up at some dead end, they wandered into a clubhouse of sorts.

"Huh? This place looks…different." Ryan said.

"Hey! Who are you guys?!" said a mysterious voice.

Turning around, the three heroes were confronted with two young men and a young woman.

"Oh, is this your place? Sorry…we were just looking around and didn't mean to snoop." Ryan said, "I'm Ryan. That knuckle-head in the shades is Dark, and our robotic friend here is Reps."

"Well, my name is Hayner. He's Pence, and her name is Ollette." Hayner said, "I haven't seen you guys before, are you new to Twilight Town?"

"Twilight Town? This is what this place is called, eh?" Dark said, "It fits. Anywho, we're looking for someone, but hey, we'll stop by again. You three seem like you'd get into all sorts of fun trouble."

"Yeah, we have our fair share of mischievous acts." Pence said with a laugh, "You're welcome anytime guys. Take care."

"Hmm…that looks like a train station over there. We might be able to find some clues there." Ryan said.

"And you're basing this on what?" Reps said, following after him.

"Just a hunch." Ryan said, walking towards the front of the train station, "See? It's all…good?"

"Ryan? What's wrong?" Dark said, turning around and noticing some bizarre, white creatures.

"What the hell are those things?" Reps said, "They don't look like Heartless and I don't have records of anything like those in my databanks."

Ryan stared at the symbol on their heads and couldn't shake a feeling of…déjà vu.

"Well, whatever they are." Ryan said, dodging one of them and pulling out his Kingdom Keysaber, "They don't like us and frankly, I could do without them! Let's take 'em out!"

The next five minutes was basically an orgy of violence as Dark, Ryan, and Reps beat the ever-loving crap out of these white creatures. However…

"Man, we can't keep this up. They just keep coming." Ryan said, blocking a blow and getting knocked back into Dark and Reps, the three falling into a heap.

"Damn, what now?!" Dark shouted.

Up above, a cloaked figure watched and decided to make his move.

Just as these creatures went in for the final blow, he jumped down and aced them in one quick move.

"Eh? We're alive?" Dark said, before recognizing the figure, "Scott?!"

"Shhh!" Scott said, before tossing Ryan a pouch, "I'll deal with these guys. Take the Blue train and it'll show you where to go. Now hurry!"

With that, Scott ran off leaving our three heroes to be quite confused.

"How did he get a Keysaber? I'm so lost!" Ryan shouted.

"Forget that, at least we know he's okay. We just have to trust his judgment right now and take that train." Reps said, getting up and walking into the station.

"Yeah, he knows what he's doing." Dark said, paying the ticket man and joining Ryan in the train.

"Wait!" Hayner shouted, "I don't know why, but…it felt like we should be here to say goodbye."

"Yeah. Something felt like we had to." Ollette said, noticing the pouch Reps was holding and making an odd face.

Seeing this, Reps was rather confused, but wrote it off as nothing.

"We said we'd come back again guys. So it's not like a final goodbye." Ryan said.

"We know, but hey…our hearts told us to be here." Hayner said, "You guys take care out there."

"Thanks, we will." Ryan said, before crying, "Eh? Why am I…"

Shaking it off, Ryan got into the train and sat down while it took off towards its destination.

"So, where do you think this train is taking us?" Reps said.

"Who knows, but if I know Scott, it's taking us to someone who can fill us in on what the hell's happened while we were sleeping." Dark said.

Ryan sat there contemplating what the heck happened.

"Ryan?" Dark asked, sensing his discomfort, "Oh, you're wondering why you cried aren't you?"

"Yeah, it's odd. We just met and yet…" Ryan trailed off.

"Well, I had those feeling too, so I'm confused as well." Dark said, "But who knows? We can be sentimental at times after all."

"Heh, yeah, you are right." Ryan said, "Oh, looks like the train is at its destination."

-----------------------

The Tower

"That is one tall tower." Reps said, "I wonder who lives here?"

"Yeah, must be someone important I suppose." Dark said, walking around some.

Ryan turned around and watched the train disappear, "Heh, looks like our ride just took off on us."

Spying someone peeking in the entrance, the trio walks over and initiates a conversation.

"Hey? What are you doing?" Ryan asked.

"Well, there's this jive turkey that lives here who's supposed to be really knowledgeable, so I'm trying to make him into a Heartless for Ansemian." Said a man wearing a purple leisure suit.

"Ansemian?" The three said, just looking at each other before laughing loudly.

"Dude, hate to break it to you, but not only is she dead, but her reincarnated self turned good till she sacrificed her life." Ryan said, "You're out of luck."

"What?!" the man said turning around quickly.

"You!!" shouted Reps, "Why are you here?!

"Hah! So the lost little android is still alive is he?" shouted the man, "And you two…you've given us all a lot of trouble as well haven't you?"

"You know this guy Reps?" Dark said, "He looks familiar…but I can't place him."

"That's Boldo…he was always a creep but when he joined up with G.U.N. he got even worse. The archives say he disappeared one day, but I guess we know where and why now." Reps said.

"Boldo?! From DDR?" Ryan said with a huge laugh, "You've gotta be joking."

"Hey! I can be evil you silly white boy!" Boldo shouted, "Feel the power of my heartless!"

Snapping his fingers, Boldo summoned a mess of Heartless and ran off.

"Now these are enemies I can fight!" Dark said, slashing through them.

"Let's go!" Ryan shouted, striking a pose with Dark before unleashing their Limit move, Strike Flash.

"Hey, watch it you guys!" Reps said, jumping out of the way from the flurry of Keysaber slashes, "Tsk, show offs."

"Heh, just like old times." Ryan said, holstering his Keysaber and opening the door to the Tower.

"Heartless here, Heartless there." Ryan said, killing more of them, "Didn't closing that damn door do any good way back?"

"I suppose." Dark said, "It probably slowed down the influx of them at the least."

"True…true." Reps said, "From what you guys told me, the other side of that door was pretty…unfriendly."

"Yeah, it wasn't pretty looking." Ryan said, "Hey, we made it to the top."

Opening the door, the three were a bit surprised to see a man in a yellow disco suit, sporting a huge Afro.

"Wait, you're this "jive turkey" Boldo was talking about?" Dark said in disbelief.

"Damn right, baby!" Afro shouted, "I heard you guys finally woke up and knew that Scott would want me to fill you in, so let's get it going!"

"Um…okay." Ryan said, "So, we've been asleep for a year, right? What the hell's going on? Why are there all these Heartless still roaming? And what's with those white creatures?"

"Well, you crazy cats, it is true you closed the door, and thus prevented all them wacko Heartless from overflowing. However, it would seem they are still using the passageways of darkness to go from world to world." Afro said, "As for those white fools you ran into…"

Opening up a panel, Afro displayed a 3D image of said white creatures.

"These funky dudes are the Nobody. When a Heartless is made, these Nobody dudes appear as well and are the Body and Soul discarded." Afro said, "This is the variety known as Dusk and it's doubtless you'll rumble with them many times baby!"

"Ok…that explains who those guys were." Reps said, "But what about Scott? What happened to him?"

"Well, as it turns out, there is this uncool group of fools called Organization XIII that are made up of incredibly strong Nobodies that kept their form after becoming Heartless." Afro said, flipping another panel.

"Huh? That's odd. Scott was wearing the same type of cloak." Dark said, "I have a feeling this is going to be a fashion statement this time around, eh?"

"Don't ask me, I just know their threads are way beyond funkification!" Afro shouted with a pose, "Anyway, it would seem you're in need for some new threads yourself."

"Hmmm…I did think the clothes were a little baggy." Ryan said, "I guess a year asleep will help you lose the weight fast."

"Well, baby, I can hook you up with the greatest threads this side of the galaxy." Afro said.

"Um…how about you just get us some smaller clothing but in this style?" Dark said while sweatdropping, "I'm rather attached to my clothing style."

"Huh…fine baby, you out of time anyway!" Afro said, snapping his fingers and a whirlwind of movement later, Dark and Ryan were somehow in better-fitting versions of their clothing.

"What the hell was that?!" Dark shouted.

"That would be my pep squad baby!" Afro shouted, "They take care of all my needs."

"If I can interrupt, how the heck do we go from world to world now if we closed off Kingdom Hearts and therefore closed off all connections to the world?" Reps asked.

"Well, there are still ways to travel." Afro said, suddenly quite serious, "By finding specific items, you can open up pathways of Light and travel those much like the Heartless travel the pathways of Dark."

"Huh? Okay, so how do we do that?" Ryan asked.

"With this tricked out, super funky ride!" Afro shouted whilst posing yet again.

"That didn't last long." Dark said with a laugh, "But hey, that's not the Gummi Ship."

"Yep, that crazy fool Cid done won himself a funked out new ride and left it in our care." Afro said, "Said you crazy cats would end up needing it at some point."

"Heh, that's Cid for you. I wonder how those guys are doing anyway?" Ryan said.

"Well, one way to find out." Reps said, "Let's dash like a flash of funk baby!"

"Oh dear God, now he's doing it!" Dark said, grabbing Reps and jumping out the window into the ship.

"Afro, it's been real! Thanks for the help and watch out!" Ryan said, joining Dark and Reps in the ship.

"May the funk be with you brother! Never lose the way of the Dance!" Afro said, funking out as the ship set off into the distance.

------------------------

Space

"So, this is some fancy ship." Ryan said, "Afro said Cid won it…I wonder from whom?"

"I don't' know, but let's get to the cockpit. It seems odd that this ship is taking off by itself." Dark said, opening a door.

"Greetings. Oh my, it seems I do not have your files on record." Said a mysterious voice.

"Hey, who said that?!" Reps said, looking around.

"Why I did of course. I am this ship's main computer." Said the mysterious voice; "You may call me Gilliam."

"Gilliam, eh? Heh, at least you aren't uptight like some computerized organisms I know." Dark said, staring at Reps.

"Hey now, what's that mean?" Reps said, staring back.

"Now now, as I have no information on you, I think it would be prudent if you were to state your names so I can register you as the crew." Gilliam said.

"Well, I'm Ryan and I'll probably end up being the captain, so put me down as that." Ryan said.

"I'm Darkness Shade and I'll handle the weaponry and navigation." Dark said.

"And I'm Reps. I suppose if I can interface with you, I can help assist in whatever else is needed." Reps said.

"Obtained and acknowledged. You are the new crew of the Outlaw Star." Gilliam said, "So, as all preparations are now complete, would you please take your seats so that we can move out?"

"Um, sure…you've got to loosen up though, Gilliam. This isn't going to work out unless you do." Ryan said, jumping in the captain's seat.

"Hmmm…you remind me of the last captain." Gilliam said, "This should be most interesting then."

"Hey, Ryan." Dark whispered to Ryan, "Doesn't the name Outlaw Star sound familiar?"

"I want to say yes, but let's not worry about that for now." Ryan whispered back.

"Um…where do I sit?" Reps asked.

"Hmmm…as you are a bio-android, or at least you seem like one, enter that hatch there so you can interface with the ship systems." Gilliam said, "You should be able to help control the ship and keep the systems in line."

"Sounds easy enough I guess." Reps said, crawling in the hatch and closing it behind him.

"Hey, where the hell did Reps go?" Ryan said, before Reps shot up in a capsule.

"Connecting, connecting, connecting…I am now connected to this ship's systems." Reps said, "Why am I floating in water?"

"Wow, that's both very cool and very disturbing at the same time." Dark said with a laugh.

"Oh boy, just like the old crew. Let's just hope you don't lose me in a poker game like they did." Gilliam said, "So, what course are we plotting then?"

"Well, it seems there's only one course open at the moment, so let's head there." Ryan said, "And hey, it looks like we get to see what Cid and them are up to sooner than we thought. That's Hollow Bastion on the map!"

"Sweet…I wonder if they've been able to reconstruct things after a year?" Dark said.

"I would assume so, as all the records I have of these people from your stories seem to indicate that they are rather resilient." Reps said.

"Indeed they are…bunch tough bastards at that." Ryan said.

"Oh, you're just still sore you lost to Leon back then." Dark said with a laugh.

"Gilliam, let's just get going." Ryan said with a sigh, "I tell you…no respect."

"Oh my, what have I gotten myself into this time?" Gilliam said.

----------------------------

Hollow Bastion (Orbit)

"It seems we've arrived at the destination. I'll maintain orbit of the planet while you take care of your business." Gilliam said, "And do try to avoid any trouble."

"Hey, do we look like we'd make trouble?" Dark asked.

"After my previous crew's actions, I find it common place to say that. So don't take any offense." Gilliam said.

"Look, let's just get down there and see what's up." Ryan said, activating the teleporter and beaming down to Hollow Bastion.

----------------------------

Hollow Bastion

"Ansemian!" Boldo shouted, his voice echoing off the emptiness of what was once Hollow Bastion's grand castle, "Hmmm…maybe they did finish her off."

Walking around, Boldo began to get quite frustrated.

"Damn those fools…eh? What's this?" Boldo said, picking up a jet-black feather, "Where did this come from?"

Boldo's ears heard something from behind him and as he turned he saw…

"Hmmm…looks like things are coming along pretty decently." Ryan said.

"Well, maybe we should find Leon and the others…" Dark said, before trailing off.

"What's the matter?" Reps said.

"Those!" Dark shouted, pointing to a pair of Soldier Heartless that disappeared shortly after being seen.

"Dammit…more fighting I suppose." Ryan said, "Well…we are a bit rusty after all that sleep."

"Yes…but still…" Dark said, "Anyway, let's go and find the others and catch up on what's happened in the last year."

"Hmm…you think they're this way?" Reps said, as the three walked into the boroughs.

"I suppose…they probably have a house set up as a base of operations most likely." Ryan said.

"Yeah, yeah…that's wonderful and such. Can we just find them? I'm getting bored." Dark said with yawn, "Eh? What's that?"

"That little device happens to be the town's defense mechanism." Said a female voice.

"Hey, I recognize that voice." Ryan said, looking upwards, "Yuffie!!"

"Look out!" Yuffie shouted, just as a group of Nobodies appeared.

"You wanted action Dark…" Ryan said, pulling out his Keysaber, "Well, I guess you got it."

"This is more like it!" Dark said with a laugh, plowing through the Nobodies.

Eventually, the threat was extinguished.

"Heh, seems like you're in top form as usual." Yuffie said, "But…who are these guys?"

"Maybe we should meet the others before introducing them, but needless to say, they're on our side." Ryan said, "Where are the others anyway?"

"They're this way." Yuffie said, leading them to a house, "By the way, where's Sonic and Shadow? And Charmy for that matter?"

Ryan blinked and just stood there a few minutes before going crazy.

"Oh crap in a hat!!! I forgot all about them! Where could they be?!" Ryan said, going into a panic.

"Ryan, chill dude. They're most likely okay. They know how to take care of themselves after all." Dark said, "So don't fret. We'll probably see them eventually. They aren't the type to sit back and just chill."

"Yeah, you're right. They'll be fine, so I shouldn't worry." Ryan said.

"Remind me again why I ever joined up with you guys?" Reps said with a laugh as he joined the others in the house.

"Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!" Yuffie said loudly.

"Ryan, it's good to see you guys are okay." Aerith said, "After Cloud and I left, we detected something strange coming from your world."

"Yeah…he's back. No doubt Cloud already knows, so I'm going to guess that's where he's at." Ryan said, "I hope he doesn't do anything reckless."

"This Cloud we're talking about." Aerith said.

"Yeah, that's what has me worried." Dark said with a laugh.

"So this is that Dark fella and Reps you were telling us about eh?" Cid said, "They seem pretty on the level."

"Yes…I also had a feeling we'd see you guys soon." Leon said, "A little while ago everyone here began remembering about you."

"Huh? That's odd." Ryan said, "Wonder what happened to cause that?"

"I don't know, but where were you guys anyway?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, believe it or not, we were sleeping." Reps said.

"For a year, jeez. What, were you guys in cold storage or something?" Cid said with a laugh.

The three of them just rubbed the back of their heads and looked embarrassed.

"Well, whatever the reason, you're here now and that's good." Aerith said.

"Not all of us though…Sonic, Shadow, Charmy…they weren't with us when we woke up." Dark said, "Yuffie reminded us of that fact a little while ago."

"I wouldn't worry about them." Leon said, "They'll be safe. They are tougher than they look."

"So…you guys haven't happened to see a guy taller than me going around in a black trenchcoat have you?" Ryan asked, "You remember Scott, right Aerith?"

"Yes…is that who you're talking about?" Aerith asked.

"Yeah…for some reason he wasn't with us when we woke up and then he saved us from those nasty white creatures with another Keysaber." Dark said, "He sent us off to meet Afro and then just disappeared."

"Well, we haven't seen this Scott fellow, but we'll let you know if we do." Cid said, "In the meantime…"

"Yes…there's a problem. A big one." Leon said, "Nobody and Heartless type problems."

"Sounds like just the job for us." Ryan said with a laugh.

"I expected nothing less…especially from you." Leon said, folding his arms.

"Hey…just what are you getting at?" Reps said.

"Oh, that's just how Leon compliments someone." Dark said, "Don't let it get to you."

"Okay then, follow me to the Bailey, I have something to show you." Leon said, walking out the door.

"Wait…there's something for you." Aerith said, pulling out some cards, "We made these up and thought you might like them. We have some for the others but…"

"Don't worry, like Leon said, they'll show up and then you can give them to them." Ryan said with a smile, "So what is it?"

"Here." Aerith said, handing each of them a card.

"Hollow Bastion…" Ryan said.

"…Restoration Committee…" Dark said.

"…Honorary Member." Reps said, "Ah, I feel so special."

"I'll have to thank Leon." Ryan said, turning around, "Where did he go? Impatient as usual…he left without us."

"Well, we'd better go catch up then." Dark said, "Thanks guys!"

------------------------

Bailey

"Look at that." Leon said, pointing towards the remains of the Grand Castle.

"DAMN!" Dark shouted, "Where did all those Heartless come from?"

"Yeah, we want to make Hollow Bastion what it was…maybe even better." Leon said, "We can handle everything except for that…and that."

Ryan looked downwards as he saw Nobodies walking around in the distance as well.

"We can take 'em!" Reps said, "So don't worry."

"Good…but do you know what's going on?" Leon said, "We're still a bit baffled by all this."

"Well…this guy named Boldo, he's gathering up Heartless. He's not too bright though, so I don't think we need to worry about him too much." Reps said.

"Yeah, the Nobodies and Organization XII are who we need to deal with the most." Ryan said.

"You called?" Came a mysterious, deep-sounding voice.

"The hell?!" Dark shouted, "It came from over here!"

Rushing to the otherside of the entrance, move voices chimed in.

"You're doing well." Came another male voice, slightly lower in pitch than the other one.

"Show yourselves!" Ryan shouted, pulling out his Keysaber.

"This calls for a celebration…" came the same, deep-sounding voice.

A wave of Dusks appeared and separated Ryan and Leon from Dark and Reps.

"You ready to rumble?" Ryan asked Leon.

"You better believe it. You aren't the only one who's still in top form." Leon said, pulling out his gunblade.

"Well that was fun." Ryan said, rolling his eyes.

"As always. It's always a party with you guys here." Leon said.

"Was that a joke? From you?" Ryan said laughing.

"The Keyblade…such a marvelous weapon." Resounded the deep-sounding voice, "Were it only in more capable hands."

An echo of laughter soon erupted.

"Show yourselves you cowards." Dark said.

Columns of darkness soon began appearing as six trenchcoat clad figures appeared.

"It's them! Organization XIII!" Ryan shouted, "What do you want?!"

"What a shame…and here I thought we could be friends." Said the deep-sounding voice before they began to disappear.

"Stop!!" Reps shouted, charging towards them before another Organization member appeared and blocked the path.

"Oopsy-daisy!" said a surfer sounding voice, "Now do you think that's polite, shutting me down like that?"

"Move!" Dark shouted, his aura flaring.

"You can talk all you want, but that won't change a thing." Said the surfer voice.

"Fine! We'll make you move then!" Ryan said, readying his saber.

"See, that would work---if I was just any old dude." Said the surfer voice, "Except I'm not. I'm with the Organization. Nothing "any old" about me."

"Tough talk since you sat on the sidelines bud." Reps said.

"I think you got the wrong impression." Said the surfer voice, "Why don't I remind you how tough the crowd you're dealing with really is?"

"Remind me?" Ryan and Dark said, then looked at each other.

"That's right. He gave me the same exact look." Said the surfer voice with a laugh.

"He's just trying to psyche you guys out." Reps said.

"Hmmm…be good now boys." The surfer voice said before disappearing.

"Dammit…he got away." Dark said, "Stupid…"

"Still…what was he on about…?" Ryan said.

"He was just trying to confuse us." Reps said.

"Yeah, only one of me…sorta." Ryan said, reading the card, "See?"

Just then the card began to glow and floated from Ryan's hands.

"Hey…you don't think?" Dark said.

Ryan concentrated on the card, jumping back as his Keysaber began to glow.

Shooting a beam of light at the card, a shower of lights announced a new path was open.

"Hey, I bet that's what Afro was talking about." Reps said.

"Leon, hate to bail on you, but we've gotta get going." Ryan said, "Other worlds are calling on us."

"Organization XIII…they look tough." Leon said, "Be careful out there."

"Right…see you guys soon." Dark said, "And keep on a lookout for Scott for us."

"Right." Leon said, waving them off as they beamed up to the ship.

------------------------

Outlaw Star

"My, you're back already." Gilliam said, "That was fast."

"Yeah…seems a new path opened up, so we've gotta go." Ryan said, "I have a feeling we'll be back soon though."

"Quite. Regarding that town we came from, I started picking up some weird readings. It seems as if it vanished." Gilliam said.

"Vanished?" Dark said, "That's not good...hopefully nothing's happened to Scott."

"Oh well." Reps said, climbing into the AI chamber, "We've got to get a move on to the next world."

"Right. Gilliam, bring up whatever new paths have opened up." Ryan said, hopping into the pilot seat.

"One moment please." Gilliam said, processing the new data, "It would seem two paths have appeared. I would recommend the Asteroid Sweep path as it would seem that one is giving off the weaker energy signals of the two."

"All right. You heard the man…ship…thing." Dark said, hopping in the navigation seat, "Let's go!!"

"Right!!" shouted the three of them as the Outlaw Star blasted off.

---------------------------

Asteroid Sweep

"It seem so lifeless in space sometimes, doesn't it?" Ryan said, "I mean, we haven't hit any Heartless ships at all. It's almost too quiet."

"You know…you shouldn't say that." Dark said.

"How come?" Ryan asked.

"Warning! Boogies detected coming from multiple points! Please take your stations!" Gilliam announced.

"That's why." Dark said, "Gilliam, what kind of firepower are we packing in this thing?"

"Thing?!" Gilliam said in disbelief, "I'll have you know that I am a prototype…"

"Gilliam, not now!" Ryan shouted, "I need to know what we have that we can use to fight with."

"This ship does have a stock equipment of missiles as well as four laser turrets located on the top and bottom of this ship." Gilliam said.

"Anything else?" Dark said, "You know, in case that isn't enough."

"This ship is also capable of close range combat through two grappler arms located at the front. The armaments for those right now consist of one blaster and one heat axe." Gilliam said, "If that's not enough, I'm not sure I can fathom what you guys are fighting."

"That works. Dark, you deal with basic weapons while I help pilot. If worse comes to worse, I'll take over with the grapplers and let you and Reps deal with navigation." Ryan said, "Let's go!!"

With that, our intrepid heroes blasted off on the start of a new adventure.


	2. Key to the Trigger

**DDR HEARTS 2:**

**Key to the Trigger**

**A/N: As always, I don't own what isn't mine, and those things that aren't mine are copyright there own creators. Obviously, read any of the stories in my profile that come before this or you shall be lost.**

---------------------

"Where…am I?" Dark said, pulling himself off the ground and dusting himself off.

Walking along, Dark came upon an old restroom and felt the need to relieve himself.

"That's odd…I felt like I had to go but now, I can't." Dark said, rearranging his belt and staring into the mirror.

This action caused him to jump back a bit and slowly approach the mirror again.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Dark said, looking at his reflection in the mirror and noticing something off.

"My hair looks more grey, I have wings for some reason, and why do I look like I haven't slept or bathed in like a month?" Dark said, looking at himself and then his reflection which, save for the hair color and wings, was exactly how he was looking.

Walking out of the bathroom rather confused, Dark looked over the railing that was there and saw a small town surrounding a lake.

"Huh? I don't recognize this place at all." Dark said, readjusting his jacket, "And why is it so damn cold?"

Walking along the path towards the city, he started hearing rather creepy sounds.

"What is that? Blast it all, if it weren't for this damn fog that rolled in all of a sudden, I wouldn't be so jumpy." Dark said, his ears twitching trying to pinpoint where the sounds were coming from.

After passing through a gate, and a rather out of place graveyard, Dark finally reached what he felt to be the main street of this town.

"Okay…there's no one here. If I could only find out what day it is?" Dark said, before a newspaper flew up and smacked him in the face, "Well…that was convenient."

Reading the paper, Dark saw that the date was about a week ago so he was at least still in the same time period.

"Okay, then the question begs…what happened to all the people here?" Dark said, continuing forward…before he saw a trail of red paint on the street.

"Wait…I know that coppery smell. That's not paint." Dark said, cringing a bit before seeing something hobble in front of him and then away.

"Hmmm…was that a person? If it was, they might be in trouble." Dark said, following cautiously till he saw the trail turn right suddenly.

"Okay, this seems like a trap." Dark said, reaching for his Keysaber…and not finding it, "Well damn. I'm not defenseless without it, but still…I'd like a melee weapon."

Grabbing a nearby speed limit sign post and breaking it into a more usable size, Dark swung it a bit to get a feel for it's weight.

"Well, it's not my weapon, but it's something." Dark said, opening the chain-link fence and proceeding down the alleyway.

"It's too quiet." Dark said to himself more than anyone else, "I can't believe I'm doing this. This whole place is creepy from the fog, completely lacking of life save for whatever this is I'm following, and I don't have my real weapon. Yeah, I haven't lost my mind at all."

Dark jumped when he heard a loud noise erupt from a nearby garbage can.

Looking about, Dark walked over and grabbed what was going off.

"It's just a handheld CD/Radio device. What is that it says on the side of it?" Dark said, rubbing off some grime, "DJ IIDX Beatmania? Why in the hell does it say that?!"

Suddenly it erupted in loud static once again and Dark whirled around to see something that made even him shiver a bit.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?!" Dark said, shouting at it.

It being a blood red sack of skin that appeared to lack any arms and was just sorta hobbling behind him.

"Well, whatever you are, I'm not letting you get a chance to do what I think you might!" Dark said, lunging at the creature and smacking it senseless with the post he was holding.

"Raaarrrrgh!" the creature shouted as its head was caved in and it fell in a heap, blood pooling around it.

"Ugh…you didn't smell all that great to begin with. Now you're even worse." Dark said, walking away before the stench overpowered him.

"You know, I don't get this place…or me for that matter." Dark said, "My hearing seems sharper, my sense of smell is much more acute, as that nasty fellow back there helped proved. How did I even get here to begin with? What happened to Ryan and Reps?"

Dark sighed as he saw that blood had gotten all over his jacket.

"Oh wonderful, just another thing I didn't need." Dark said, taking off his jacket and wiping the blood off with his shirt, "I'd rather my shirt being messy than my jacket. Eh? What's this?"

Dark picked up a folded piece of paper that had fallen out of his jacket and, after putting it back on, opened up the paper.

"If I'm reading this right, then this map is of this town." Dark said, checking for a familiar street name on a nearby sign, "I knew it. This map is of this town. Which means, the name should be on here."

Dark's eyes widened slightly as he read the name of the town just as a loud noise drew away his attention…

------------------------

Outlaw Star

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" Gilliam's mini-bot self shouted, bouncing up and down on Dark's bed.

"Grraaack!" Dark shouted, shooting straight up in bed and sending Gilliam flying.

"Oh my." Gilliam said, "Could you please not be so violent when you wake up?"

"Huh? Wha…Gilliam?" Dark said, standing up and looking around, "So it was just a dream? I don't know, dreams tend to be rather premonitious for us."

"Um…Dark?" Gilliam said, jumping up and down to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Gilliam, I didn't see you there." Dark said, "Why are you pink?"

"Um…well, the former crew had a member that wanted one of me to be unique so." Gilliam said, flustered, "Regardless, I came to wake you up cause we're almost at our destination."

"Okay. Thanks Gilliam. Tell Ryan I'll be in the cockpit soon enough." Dark said as Gilliam left.

Dark stood in front of his mirror and saw that he was still himself.

"Same jet-black hair, same sexy complexion, and no wings." Dark said, looking himself over thoroughly, "Hmmm…something tells me I haven't seen the last of that place. I didn't even get a good glance at the name on the map. I just remember a B."

Shaking his head, Dark got fully dressed and headed towards the cockpit.

"Ah, so he awakes at last." Reps said, "We've been waiting."

"Yeah, yeah…how long was I out anyway?" Dark asked.

"Ever since we finished that fight with those Nobody and Heartless ships." Ryan said, "So about 6 hours. You okay? You looks a little shaken up."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Just had a bad dream, that's all." Dark said, "So where is here?"

"Well, if I'm sensing this right…and assuming Gilliam's scanners aren't messing up." Ryan said, "Then I think we know this place."

Dark looked out of the window and noticed the whole planet was almost entirely covered with water.

"Heh, I wonder what Trigger's been up to in a year. Trouble as usual I'd guess." Dark said, "Well, let's go crash the party."

Nodding, Ryan and Reps joined Dark on the teleportation unit and beamed down to the surface.

--------------------------

Terra: Yosyonke Island

"Brrr…it's cold here." Ryan said, rubbing his arms.

"Heh, for once I don't look weird wearing my jacket." Dark said with a laugh, "So, Trigger must be around here somewhere then."

"If I'm not mistaken, my records seem to indicate that the ship over there would be his, would it not?" Reps said, pointing to what was obviously the Flutter.

"Well, let's go see if they're home then." Ryan said, walking up the gangplank and walking inside the ship.

"Are you sure it's okay to just waltz in here?" Reps asked.

"We're friends. I just hope they're here." Ryan said, "Roll! Megaman! Data! Are you guys here?"

Silence was their reply.

"Huh…well. Reps, you and Dark go check the lower deck and I'll look around up here. They've got to be here somewhere." Ryan said, walking towards the cockpit.

"Okay, we'll meet back up here if we don't find anything." Dark said, descending the ladder and heading downstairs with Reps.

"Hello? Roll?" Ryan said, knocking on her door before opening it, "Hmmm, I guess she's not here then."

Ryan took a bit to look around her room before noticing her diary sitting wide open on a desk.

"I know I shouldn't, but it might catch me up to date on what's going on." Ryan said, leafing through certain portions of it.

"Hmmm, 4 Keys…Forbidden Island…Ancients…the Bonnes." Ryan mumbled as he was reading, "Hmmm…what's this one entitled Rumors? It's underlined in red as well."

'I'm not sure what's been going on lately, but Megaman's apparently been doing some things that are completely out of character for him. It's almost like this black cloud has appeared around him and he's become harsher and more critical to everyone…including me.' Roll's entry read.

"Megaman? Could someone have gotten to you? The Heartless or the Nobody maybe?" Ryan said, closing the diary and walking back towards the cockpit.

"Data!" Ryan shouted, seeing the little monkey doing its dance.

"Eeeeek!" Data shouted, jumping up in down once it recognized Ryan.

"So? Where's the others little guy?" Ryan asked him.

"Megaman took off into town a little while ago." Data said, "And, well, Roll went downstairs to try and relax because of how Megaman's been acting."

Ryan just stared at Data and blinked.

"Well, I'm sure if Megaman was here that'd make sense. I wish I could understand you."

At the same time, Dark and Reps had searched every room except the living room and hadn't seen any sign of anyone.

"Well, we can check here. Let's hope they are here or we're stuck." Dark said, walking into the living room, "Roll? Megaman? Data?"

Hearing nothing once again, the two were about to leave, until Dark heard the water running in the restroom.

"Huh?" Dark said, walking over to the door, "I thought I heard something."

Opening the door, Dark got an eyeful of what was making the noise.

"Eeeek! What are you doing? Who are you? Get out!!" Roll shouted, throwing a sponge at Dark.

"Yes ma'am! I'm sorry!" Dark said, shutting the door behind him.

Ryan ran downstairs at hearing the noise and ran into the living room.

"What was that noise? I heard a scream!" Ryan shouted, seeing a very red-faced Dark and a sponge lying on the floor.

"Oh Dark, you didn't…" Ryan said with a sigh as he knocked on the bathroom door.

"Go away! I don't know who you are but I'm dangerous!" Roll shouted through the door.

"Roll? It's me, Ryan. You remember me right?" Ryan said, "I'm sorry my comrades decided not to use much tact in getting your attention."

"Ryan?" Roll said, opening the door and seeing Ryan standing there.

Ryan smiled and gave a wave.

"Oh thank God you guys are here!" Roll shouted, dashing out and hugging tight to Ryan.

"Um…Roll." Ryan said, stuttering in his speaking, "Roll?"

"Oh…I'm sorry." Roll said, "It's just. If anyone can help I know you guys can."

"Well, I'm sure you'd like to get dressed. Being in only a robe in a room with three guys is probably a tad uncomfortable." Ryan said, looking away with a red face.

"Oh my, you are right." Roll said, blushing, "I'll just be a moment. Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable while I get dressed."

Nodding, Ryan and his friends flopped down on the couch and waited for Roll to get dressed.

"You two looked like you enjoyed that." Reps said with a laugh, "Though I dare say Dark enjoyed it much more."

"Heh, heh…well, I will say this. Megaman has some good taste in women. That Roll, she is one fine female." Dark said with a grin.

Ryan made a signal for Dark to stop talking and just whistled.

"And…she's standing right behind me isn't she?" Dark said.  
"Yep!" Roll said, giving Dark a friendly nudge, "The next time you want a peek though, you'll have to pay it forward."

"I um…well…you see, that's…" Dark said, slightly befuddled.

"It's okay. You didn't really know." Roll said, sitting down on the easy chair, "So it's good to see you guys...it's been a long year."

"Yeah, now what's this you said about Megaman?" Ryan said, "It sounded pretty serious from what I read."

"You read? Oh dear, did I leave my diary open again?" Roll said, "Well, at least that means you know what's been going on."  
"Yeah, I'm sorry I peeked Roll, but…it did bring me up to speed." Ryan said.

"Can you get to the problem please?" Reps said, "I'm getting bored."

"Oh, yes. Well, Megaman has been acting really critical and mean as of late. It's almost like this dark aura is polluting his mind." Roll said, "He was really mean to me the other day. I was a little overcome by it all and took a nap. Megaman came to check up on me and when I asked him if he was okay, he told me to stop being such a busybody and so nosy."

"Hmmm…sounds like the Heartless might've gotten to him." Dark said, "Or maybe the Organization."

"The Heartless? I will admit, a few months ago we did notice they were reappearing." Roll said, "I remember after one dig Megaman got really hurt and we had to go rescue him. Thankfully he was only on the first floor, but his injuries had him in bed for a month."

"He started acting weird after that I take it?" Ryan said.

"Yeah…but now that you guys are here, I know you can help." Roll said, smiling slightly, "I mean, you guys can help, right?"

"Trigger is our friend. We'll do what we can to help." Ryan said, standing up, "Don't worry Roll. We'll help snap him out of this. Where can we find him?"

"He's probably over in the town mines. He's been there for a while now. It's almost like he doesn't want to find that 4th key." Roll said.

"Don't worry. We'll snap him out of it." Dark said with a smile, "It's the least I can do to repay for that pleasing image of you I have now."

"You look like Ryan, but you are really goofy." Roll said with a grin, "I'll be here if you need help. Take this comlink, I can back you up."

"Sure. And thanks Roll." Ryan said as the three of them left.

-------------------------

Town Mines

"You should see him nearby." Roll's voice said over the comlink, "His signal is right ahead of you."

"Yeah, we see him." Ryan said, "Megaman!!"

Megaman turned from what he was doing and looked up to see Ryan, though he didn't know the other two.

"Ryan? Is that you?" Megaman said, standing up and walking over towards him.

"Yeah, it's me Trigger. Dude, you look different. What happened to your armor?" Ryan said.

"Oh…I felt like a darker look. I think it looks cooler." Megaman said, "Why? Did Roll send you out here?"

"Dude, chill out. It really sounds like something happened to you. Did the Heartless get to you?" Dark said, "I can sense the aura coming from you, so you can't lie to us."

"What business is that of yours?!" Megaman shouted, "You're just like Roll. Too damn nosy."

Ryan balled his hand into a fist, walked up, and slugged Megaman.

"Snap out of it! Don't you realize that we care about you?!" Ryan shouted, "I know the real Trigger is still in there somewhere. You can fight this!"

"You shouldn't have done that." Megaman said, standing up and unsheathing his buster gun.

"You'd really turn your weapon upon me?" Ryan said, "Very well. If this is the only way I can snap you out of it Trigger. Roll, I'm sorry but I have to do this!"

"Let's see what you've got Keyboy!" Trigger said, letting loose with a barrage of plasma blasts.

Ryan knocked them away and closed in on Megaman before smacking him upside the head with his foot.

Megaman flew back and landed with a thump in the snow, but quickly got back to his feet and pulled out his Z Sword attachment.

"Don't have the guts to really attack me Ryan?" Megaman said, "Well unfortunately for you, I have no such qualms!"

"Fine then!" Ryan said, rushing towards Megaman, "This is for your own good."

"Bring it!" Megaman shouted, their blades clashing with one another, sending sparks off melting the snow, "You won't stop me!"

"Megaman!! Stop this!" Roll shouted, appearing over the hill.

"Roll?" Megaman said, becoming momentarily distracted.

"Gotcha!!" Ryan said, pushing away Megaman's blade and striking him with another punch, knocking him unconscious.

"Oh no!" Roll shouted, running towards him, "Megaman!"

"He'll be okay Roll. But I'm not sure what we can do about whatever's gotten ahold of him. It's not like we know how to banish evil spirits like the Heartless." Dark said.

"Well…maybe the priest in town can do something?" Roll said, "We have to try!"

"Right." Ryan said, picking up Megaman, "Let's just hope he can help Trigger out."

--------------------

Church

"I see my children." Said the priest, "I'm not sure what I can do. But with those pirates out there threatening the town, I must try to help him."

"Pirates? You mean the Bonnes?" Reps said, "My data tells me they weren't all that dangerous."

"Well, they've teamed up with other pirates this time so there is danger." Roll said, "Megaman has been able to keep them at bay, but…"

"I get the picture." Ryan said, before feeling an aftershock, "What was that?"

"Father!" shouted one of the parishioners running through the door, "The town has just been fired upon!"

"I fear that I need more time to finish cleansing Megaman's soul. But with their attacks imminent." The priest said.

"Don't worry. My friends and I can help out. I don't know how, but we'll do what we can. You just help Megaman." Ryan said, tossing the priest something, "When he comes to, give him that. Let him know I want it back when he comes to."

"No problem my child. Go, protect the city, I'll help your friend." The priest said as Ryan, Dark, and Roll left.

"Are you not going to help them?" said the parishioner to Reps.

"They can handle those guys, if Megaman comes too and hasn't been fully been cleansed, he won't be too happy about what Ryan did to him." Reps said with a nervous laugh.

-------------------------

Trainyard

"You sure this Joe fellow said we could use this?" Ryan said.

"Yeah…he gave me this key and told me that if anyone could drive it, it would be me." Roll said, "So, jump on guys. Let's go stop them!"

"Right!" Ryan and Dark said, jumping on top of the train and holding on as it sped off.

"Isn't that damn main gun fixed yet?" Teisel Bonne shouted angrily, "Shooting it once destroyed the barrel."

"I told you it was still under development. But nooooo, you just had to go and fire off anyway didn't you?!" Glyde shouted, "Anyway, it's fixed now, so let's get a move on. We'll be lucky to reach the city by nightfall."

"W-what?!" Teisel shouted.

"Quit your whining Teisel. Start acting like a man!" Glyde shouted.

"Why do I put up with a wimp like that? Who does he think he is talking to me like that anyway?" Teisel said in anger.

Sighing, Tron just looked over her control panel.

"This is what happens when you don't have money. You have to scrounge for parts." Tron sighed again, "And then team up with people like that."

"There's a train coming!" said Servbot #27, "But it's not Megaman riding it!"

"What?!" Teisel said, looking through the scopes, "No! It can't be him!"

"Teisel, do you know who that buffon and his clone is?" Glyde said.

"That boy is back again. Dammit, not good!" Teisel said, "I've been wanting revenge though, so it seems I'll get my chance!"

"All right! Full speed ahead! Do try to keep up Teisel!" Glyde shouted.

"Why you?! I'll make you eat those words Glyde!" Teisel shouted, "Gomoncha, full speed ahead!"

"Here we go guys." Roll said over the comlink, "Don't let too much hit the train or we'll have to retreat."

"Don't worry Roll, we won't let a single shot by!" Dark said, "Let's do this!"

"Watch out for that main turret guys, those bombs don't look like they'd tickle." Roll said.

"We got them!" Ryan said, knocking the bombs back at Glyde's car with his Keysaber.

"Who are these guys?" Glyde said, "Teisel never mentioned them before."

"We're hurt then." Dark said, throwing a ball of energy at the cannon, destroying it.

"Yeah, Teisel, we're crushed. How could you forget someone like us?" Ryan said, reflecting Glyde's laser attack back at him.

"Wait, what's going on?" Glyde shouted, "We're losing?!"

"I am, sorry Glyde. Truly I am." Teisel said, "I don't have any choice."

"What are you babbling on about? You don't mean…" Glyde said, "No!"

"We won't forget you. Good luck, Glyde!" Teisel said.

"Bon voyage! Sniff…" Said Servbot #34.

"Do it Tron!" Teisel shouted.

"Right, disengaging Glyde car!" Tron said, smashing a button down.

"I'll get you for this Teisel!" Glyde shouted as his car slid back and then exploded.

"Now to fall back and regroup. Bon, full speed ahead!" Tron shouted.

"All right you bratty little Keykeeper, I'm going to get my revenge for what happened last time!" Teisel shouted.

"Oh great! We trade one idiot for an even bigger one!" Ryan said with a laugh, "Roll, can we get any closer to them?"

"Not at the moment, they're too fast." Roll said, "Wait a minute…incoming missiles. Try throwing them back at them."

"Throwing them back?" Dark said, catching the missile, "Hey, there's a Servbot on this thing. Oh well."

Throwing it back with a little too much enjoyment, Dark sent the kamikaze Servbot back towards the train.

"What are they doing?" Tron shouted, "They're sending them back?! They're not allowed to do that!"

"This is fun!" Ryan said, throwing another one back, "Wheeee!"

"Ow…we're losing speed." Tron said, "The cannon's back online though, so let them have it!"

"Did she say that huge cannon is back on-line?" Roll said, "We can't take too many hits from that thing, so be careful!"

"Don't worry, we won't go down that easy!" Ryan shouted, "Dark, you want this one?"

"Heh, I'd love to!" Dark said, jumping across the gap and landing on the Bonnes' train.

"Hey, you aren't allowed to board us! You're breaking the rules!" Teisel shouted, "Hurry, fire the cannon and shot him off!"

"Aye Aye sir!" shouted Servbot #22, slamming down the fire button.

"You idiot! He's on our train!" Tron shouted, "Which means we'll get shot by our own weapon!"

"Oh…didn't think of that." Teisel said, "I hate that boy so much! He's worse than Megaman!"

Dark jumped off the train just as the cannon let loose it's blast, destroying both itself and the train as well.

"Well, that was anti-climatic." Dark said, but at least they're done with now.

"I am so tired of this!" Teisel shouted.

"It's hot. It's so hot!" shouted Servbot #37.

"Teisel, we've gotta get out of here now!" Tron shouted.

"Oh, you listen to me you stupid Keyboy! You and the blue boy will pay! Oh you'll pay!" Teisel shouted, "I'll get all of you if it's the last thing I…"

The sound of the train exploding can be heard, as well as the Bonnes shouting out in pain.

"Well, that takes care of that! Let's go check on Megaman!" Roll said, driving the train back into town.

-----------------------

Church

"Megaman!" Roll shouted, rushing through the double doors of the cathedral.

"Roll?" Megaman said, standing up slowly, "Oh Roll…I'm so sorry."

"Mega, is it really you?" Roll said, embracing him.

"Yeah…it was like I was lost in a sea of darkness." Megaman said, looking over at Ryan, "But a good friend showed up and helped guide the way back to you."

"Hey, we're friends man. If I became inexplicably evil, I know you'd risk your butt to get me back to myself." Ryan said, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"So, did you save the town?" Reps said, "I'm assuming yes since we're still here."

"Yeah, the Bonnes and that Glyde goofball went down easy!" Dark said with a grin, "So, what's this about a key?"

"I spoke with the priest. When we're ready he'll open the way for us now that the pirates are gone." Megaman said, "Oh yeah, here's your charm back man."

"Heh, guess my lucky doo-dad came in handy after all." Ryan said, "Let's get you suited up and we'll go kick some Reaverbot butt!"

"Sounds good to me. I'll go suit up and be right back." Megaman said, Roll following behind him.

"You three certainly are something else. I've never witnessed anyone with the strength of character or will that you have shown." Said the priest.

"I'm just glad you were able to get Trigger back to his normal self." Ryan said.

"Well, about that. The strangest thing is I had no effect, then that charm you gave him started glowing. It was then that I felt the presence within him lift away and his soul return to normal." Said the priest.

"Heh, imagine that." Dark said, "Guess the ties of our hearts with our friends is stronger than we thought."

Sometime later…

--------------------

Calinca Ruins

"Well, one key left guys." Roll said over the comlink, "It's been tough, but I know we can do it."

"You got it Roll. It'll be much easier with my friends here too." Megaman said, "Thanks for snapping me out of it again. I just hope I can fix the damage I've caused."

"Eh, it'll work out." Ryan said, "So I wouldn't worry too much."

"I've been meaning to ask something Ryan." Megaman said, "About Dark? Who is he? Cause he looks like you."

"Oh, well. Remember I told you about that person we were fighting last time?" Ryan asked.

Megaman nodded in agreement.

"Well, apparently some process while fighting her split my other half from me." Ryan said.

"Thus I was born as a separate identity." Dark said, "Hence why I look like Ryan."

"Okay. That's cool. What about the others though?" Megaman said.

"I'm not sure…we got separated after something happened on our world." Ryan said, "I wonder…where they are."

-------------------------

Earth

"I really hate being stuck here like this!" Charmy shouted angrily.

"Well, yes…its not all that great being left out." Shadow said, sitting in Sonic's lap, "But it's not like we have any means of finding them, you know?"

"Shad's right Charmy." Sonic said, "We just have to have faith that they'll be okay. Scott's with them so there isn't much need to worry, not to mention our friends are pretty resilient."

"You're right." Charmy said with a sigh, "I just wish there was some way we could help them."

"Hmmm…maybe there is." Shadow said, jumping off Sonic, "If G.U.N. was a part of this to begin with, maybe there might be something left on Dance Pad Isle that we can use. Seeing as it was pretty much just a cover for another base of theirs, Konamison was bound to have his own way of joining those other villains."

"That's why she's my girl." Sonic said, kissing Shadow, "She's so smart!"

"Oh Sonic." Shadow said, blushing, "Let's go then!"

---------------------------------

Ice Hole Room

"So, we've gotta get those three Reaverbots to somehow plow into those holes, right? Otherwise we can't move forward?" Ryan asked.

"That's the sum of things." Roll said, "I'm not sure how, but you could try playing chicken with them."

"Who would be dumb enough to try that?" Megaman said.

"Hey! You stupid robots! You couldn't hit the side of a barn with another barn!" Dark said, shaking his butt at them.

"He's going to get himself killed!" Reps shouted, hearing the three Reaverbots roar in anger.

"That's it! Come and get me!" Dark shouted, jumping out of the way just in time so the three bots would smack into themselves.

"Look out!" Ryan said, jumping to the side as the three bots ricocheted around and fell into the holes.

"I can't believe that worked." Megaman said, "Well. That solves that I guess."

"Be careful, I'm getting some weird readings from one of those doorways." Roll said, "Most likely that's the way you need to go."

"Typical." Ryan said, "Well, let's get this over with then."

------------------------------------

Expansive Room

"Wow! Who knew that a place like this could exist underground? It's beautiful." Roll said, "I'm detecting three weak energy signals. They look like keys, so you'll have to get them to continue."

"Wonderful! It's always with the little item fetching, isn't it?" Ryan said with a laugh, "I'll go this way then."

"And I'll go this way." Megaman said.

"Then we'll go this way." Dark and Reps said.

After about 15 joyful minutes…

"Finally!" Ryan shouted in exasperation, "Those things better be worth the trouble."

"If they get us the key they are." Megaman said, opening the last door, before jumping into a fighting stance.

"Wait Megaman!" Roll said over the comlink, "That Reaverbot doesn't seem to want to fight."

"Weird…well, let's go through the next set of doors then." Ryan said, walking around the Reaverbot, but still keeping an eye on it.

"Hey, is that what you're looking for?" Dark said.

"That's the fourth key!" Megaman said, collecting it and pocketing it, "Yes!"

"We did it Megaman! We got all four keys!" Roll said over the comlink, "Don't relax though. You still need to get back up here."

"Right. Heh, maybe you can make some dinner while we're heading back." Megaman said, "I'm sure we're all starving after this mission."

"Heh, you boys and your stomachs. Okay, I'll have something waiting for you as soon as…wait a minute. That Reaverbot from before just started acting up. It's reacting to the key." Roll said; "Be careful."

"Okay, how do we do this?" Ryan said, as the group entered the boss' room.

"Same as always?" Megaman said, "Shoot it till it dies!"

"Sounds good to me!" Dark said, charging it and beating it senseless.

"Or that…that's good." Reps said, sweatdropping.

"Okay…um…why is the floor glowing?" Ryan said, before the group was electrocuted.  
"Ooooooooow!" the four of them shouted before being thrown back against the wall.

"Dammit! This isn't good." Reps said, "I can't move. Whatever that attack was screwed up some of my systems."

"Hey, Trigger, you think you can overload that cannon you call an arm?" Ryan asked, helping Reps up.

"Yeah…but I have to make it count." Megaman said, overcharging his buster, "I miss and I'm out of weapon power."

"I'll keep it busy, just hurry up!" Dark said, getting the bot to follow him around.

"Gotta…make…it…count!" Megaman shouted, firing away and being blown back by the recoil.

Fortunately, his aim was true as the Reaverbot exploded into a mess of goo…that, unfortunately, completely covered Dark.

"God…I feel like someone just blew their nose on me…all over." Dark said, shaking off some of the goop.

"Let's just get back to the surface. I've had enough of this for one day." Megaman said, picking himself back up.

--------------------------

Flutter

"Oh Megaman! You guys did it! We got all four keys now!" Roll said, hugging Megaman.

"Yeah…do you think you could look at Reps? He's a little fried from an attack and maybe you could fix him up." Megaman said, "Ryan's got him in your workshop right now."

"Okay. What about Dark?" Roll said, "Where'd he go?"

"Well…he got messy when the Reaverbot gooped all over him, so he's in the shower." Megaman said.

"Oh he is, eh?" Roll said, grinning, "I'll go check on Reps, you go ahead and get us ready to head back to the Sulphur-Bottom."

"Okay Roll. Let me know when we're ready to go." Megaman said.

Roll, after grabbing her camera, snuck down to the bathroom and listened to make sure Dark was still in there.

Hearing the water running Roll grinned and threw open the door, snapping a picture and running off.

"Ack!" Dark said, "What was that?"

"Oh, that was sweet." Roll said, heading down towards the workshop, "Now, let's see what's up with your friend."

"I don't know, just can't seem to move on my own." Reps said, "It's probably nothing big though."

"Well, I'll be the judge of that." Roll said, examining his circuitry, "Wow, you're incredibly advanced. I've never seen technology like this before."

"Well, I was made from futuristic technology of another world." Reps said, "You…aren't going to dissect me now, are you?"

"Oh no, no…no." Roll said, "I'm just geeking out, that's all. There you go. All fixed up."

"Sweet." Reps said, jumping up, "I can move again. Thanks Roll."

"No problem. Now, let's go meet up with the Sulphur-Bottom." Roll said, climbing back up the ladder to the cockpit.

----------------------------

Sulphur-Bottom

"Well, well. I didn't expect more guests to arrive." Bluecher said, "But it's good to have more help. Now that we have the fourth key, I wonder what those ancients will do."

"Ancients? You mean those guys you found on Forbidden Island then?" Ryan said.

"Yes. How did you find out about that?" Barrel said.

"Roll told me." Ryan said, "When we showed up she filled us in."

"Well, even if they do try anything. I have them under watch, so they won't get far if they try something." Bluecher said.

Just then a small pulse was felt as the four keys were illuminated.

"Did anyone else feel that?" Megaman said.

Suddenly the ship was rocked with explosions as the alarms went off.

"What's going on?" Bluecher shouted.

"It must be them. They must be doing something!" Megaman shouted.

Outside, the Bonnes, inside a Drache, watched as the Sulphur-Bottom began to sprout flames.

"This isn't looking good." Teisel said, "Someone else is after the keys."

"We need to go after them, but if we're not careful we'll go down too." Tron said.

"I'm not sure if that blue boy or the twerp with the key could handle this." Teisel said.

'Megaman…' Tron thought to herself.

"Is there anything we can do?" Ryan shouted, "We can't just let them get away with this."

"Maybe we can head them off somehow and stop Geetz from taking over the ship." Roll said, "We can…"

"What's wrong?" Megaman said, before grabbing his head, "Ack! That sound…what is it?"

"I can't…focus. I'm blacking out." Ryan said, falling over.

Dark, Reps, and Roll followed him soon after leaving just Megaman as the last one awake.

"My friends…no…what's…going…on?" Megaman said before falling to the feeling as well.

------------------------------

Room

"Megaman, Megaman wake up!" Roll shouted, shaking him.

"Ugh…what happened?" Ryan said, slowly waking up.

"We seemed to have blacked out for some time." Bluecher said, "We came too just before you did, but Megaman seems unresponsive."

"What happened to him, his armor is all beaten up." Dark said, clutching his noggin.

"Apparently, he was in some sort of battle while we were out cold." Barrel said, "So I don't blame him for being sleepy."

"Still…wait, who's that woman?" Reps said.

"I am Yuna…and your friend should be waking up soon." Yuna said.

"I'm…awake?" Megaman said, "Roll."

"Megaman. I'm so glad you're okay." Roll said, "I thought that you weren't going to wake up."

"Well, you have a choice. Will you fight Sera or will you take your place in the system?" Yuna said, "I'll be waiting when you've made your choice. Find me then."

"What was that about?" Ryan asked.

"Well…I'm apparently a creation of someone called the Master. He lived in an advance civilization, one that created the people on this planet. Then one day he wanted the people here to be happy and not be watched by the system." Megaman said, "So he made me promise to destroy the system so that the people on Terra could live happily. So that's how I forgot things. I gave Data my memory so it couldn't be analyzed and then fought Sera here. It was a draw so we were both sealed away."

"That is some story." Dark said, "Nice recap too by the way Trigger."

"So, what will we do then?" Reps said.

--------------------

Elysium

"I can't believe we just took such a slow ride to get here." Dark said, "Gilliam could've gotten us here much faster."

"But he didn't know the way, so just shut up already." Ryan said, "It was bad enough being cramped in there after all."

"So Yuna, where do we go now?" Megaman asked.

"Well, usually you could take the service elevator to the Central Area, but it seems stuck on another level." Yuna said.

"I can fix that!" Dark shouted with a grin, flying straight up through the ceiling.

"He's certainly, a different side of you Ryan." Trigger said with a sweatdrop.

"Yeah…yeah." Ryan said, embarrassed at Dark's reckless actions again.

Suddenly, the service elevator descended downwards with Dark standing on it.

"You know Dark, you could've discussed god-modding the problem again. This isn't our world if you recall. We do have to have some problems to solve you know?" Ryan said, walking over to Dark and then smacking him upside the head.

"What?! I fixed the problem and cut out a whole boring section that no one cares about." Dark said with a smile.

Ryan turned towards the screen and just stared outwards, sighing heavily.

"Regardless," Yuna started, "You guys should be able to move on now. I'll back you up and Spot for you, but I can't come with you."

"Okay then." Megaman said, joining Ryan and Dark, "We'll be counting on you helping us."

"That building in front of you, it's the Master's building. I bet you stayed there a lot Megaman." Yuna said over the comlink.

"So this is the place you were born in, eh Trigger?" Ryan said, "It looks so advanced, but…"

"…Without anyone here it's really creepy." Dark said, "Well, there's Reaverbots but still."

"Yeah, I know. I just hope we can stop Sera. Come on!" Megaman said, running towards the Master's House.

"You should be able to reach the way to where Sera is taking that elevator." Yuna said, "I'm not sure what you might find there now, but it should be straight forward enough."

"Let's do this then. Come on Trigger, time to play hero again!" Ryan said with a grin.

"You got it!" Megaman said, activating the elevator and sending our heroes down into the depths.

-------------------------

Mother Area

"It's just a bunch of tunnels?" Reps said, as he and the others were traversing them, "Yuna, is this leading anywhere?"

"It will eventually, though I should mention that…careful…interference…" Yuna said before the line went dead.

"Yuna?" Megaman said, "Something must be jamming the signal."

"Well, I could make out her saying to be careful, so we should be ready for anything." Dark said, opening the next door, then closing it.

"What's wrong?" Reps asked.

"Giant…robot…frog." Dark said, blinking before turning to Megaman, "What the hell is that thing?!"

"Oh…maybe that's what she was getting at. The four guardians of the Keys must also have backup copies that protect the Mother Area." Megaman said.

"So…shall we then?" Ryan said, opening the door and smacking away a dragonfly Reaverbot.

"Okay, how did you stop this thing before?" Dark said, dodging its tongue.

"Well, I just shot at it and it fell over exposing it's underbelly." Megaman said, dodging mechanized tadpoles and shooting the frog when it could.

"Well, I'm open to suggestions." Ryan said.

"I know, let's give it some indigestion!" Reps shouted, shooting two grenades into the frog's mouth, "You guys might want to duck and cover."

Ryan and crew hit the dirt as the grenades detonated, sending shards of the surprised frog flying everywhere.

"That was messy." Ryan said, "Very messy."

"Tell me about it," Dark said, shaking off the pile of parts that had landed on him, "What is it with me and explosions?"

"This hasn't been your day has it?" Megaman said with a laugh, heading towards the next door.

"Megaman?!" Yuna's voice shouted over the comlink.

"Yuna? Good, the signals back." Megaman said, "What happened?"

"I'm not sure…something was over the lines and said something about Heartless." Yuna said, "What are those?"

"Trouble." Ryan said, opening the next door, "And there they are."

Three Reaverbot jellyfish were floating around the room, before locking on to Megaman and the others.

"I thought you said…" Megaman started, before he saw three dark figures overtake the jellyfish and transform them, "Nevermind."

"Hey, why did it get harder to move?" Dark said, feeling weighted down.

"Looks like something increased the gravity." Yuna said, "Maybe beating them will restore it to normal?"

"Couldn't hurt…but I'm getting a bit tired of these things." Ryan said, running as fast as he could and slicing through the jellyfish.

One twitched and exploded, but the other latched onto Ryan and threw him around.

"AHHHHH! Stop him dammit!" Ryan shouted in pain and anger.

"Let him go!" Megaman shouted, unleashing a Powered Buster shot at the one holding Ryan, sending it's pieces all over the place.

"Wait a minute…high gravity plus me up high equals." Ryan said, looking down and seeing the ground coming closer, "Snap!"

Ryan managed to control his descent just enough to avoid any real pain, but still left a nice shaped dent in the floor.

"Time to scramble some circuits." Reps said, unleashing a flurry of blasts from his hand laser, "I've got to work on my heroic dialogue some more."

"Huff, huff…that was fun." Ryan said, picking himself up, "Hey, the gravity's back to normal."

"It would seem so. Are you guys okay?" Yuna asked over the comlink.

"Yeah, we'll be fine. I'm out of weapon energy now though." Megaman said, morphing his left arm back into its normal shape, "So I'm on pure Buster shots now."

"Well, I can always give you a charge if you need it." Reps said, "I'm sure my power cells have enough power to charge it in a pinch."

"Onward!" Dark shouted in an overly anxious tone.

"Okay, Megaman. Who did you fight after those guys?" Ryan said, "I don't want anymore surprises."

"Well, it was like a giant dinosaur Reaverbot. Watch out for the blue energy sphere it fires off, those hurt like hell." Megaman said with a laugh.

"Okay then, as Dark said, 'Onward!'" Reps said, followed by Dark, then a sweat dropping Ryan and Megaman.

"I think we found it." Dark said, opening the next door and jumping to the side as the Reaverbot fired it's energy orbs.

"Even I'm getting sick of this now." Megaman said, "I mean, fighting the bosses all over again…what is this? Some kind of videogame?"

Everyone just stopped and there was a huge awkward pause.

"Focus guys!" Ryan said, chucking his Keysaber at the Reaverbot, causing it to roar and pain and smack Ryan away.

"Ow…" Ryan said, falling off the wall, "You. Must. DIE!"

Ryan flew off the wall and, in complete clash with his earlier speech, went Super and decimated the reptilian robot.

"Who else wants some?!" Ryan said, still trapped in the moment.

"He's gone Ryan." Dark said, ""No god-modding," eh?"

"Well, I…" Ryan said, returning to normal and clearing his throat, "Ahem, anyway, shall we continue."

"I think I've got a feeling I know who's left." Dark said, "And I'm not getting gooped again. I still feel like I'm covered in that crap."

"Well, we know an overcharge shot from my buster can take it out no problem, but I've got no power left." Megaman said.

Dark looked towards Reps, then at Ryan who nodded.

"Just this once, it's okay to god-mod." Ryan said, "I'm getting impatient for the big battle anyway."

"Hooray!" Dark shouted, helping Reps power up Megaman's Powered Buster.

Ryan opened the door, Megaman aimed, and thus the Blob Reaverbot went splat again.

"This is fun!" Megaman said, "You guys should do digs with me more often."

"Uh oh. The power's going to his head." Ryan said with a laugh.

----------------------------

Library Area: Key Room

"Look, the keys are in place." Reps said.

"Well, you've made it! You've reached the Library. That's where the

Carbon Reinitialization Program is executed from and where you can stop it. Destroy the System or defend it. It's your choice, Megaman. I can't tell you what to do." Yuna said

"Well, Megaman. What are we going to do then?" Ryan said, "I've a feeling playing the hero is the answer you're going to give me."

"You guys are too much." Megaman said, "I can't drag you into this any further."

"Heh, we wouldn't have any other way then to go into battle with you bud." Dark said, placing a hand on Megaman's shoulder, "We're friends Trigger. We'll do this together."

"This unit will do what I can to override Mother's logic circuits. Though I don't think I can take over her completely, I can at least impair her reaction time." Gatts said, "My power may be limited, but I shall do what I can."

"You guys will be on your own once you enter the Library since it's shielded against any transmissions." Yuna said, "Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"Stupid? Us? You jest." Reps said with a laugh.

------------------------

Library

"I don't see her. I don't like that." Megaman said, "Hmmm…I'm going to check that control panel."

"This smells like a trap. The rate at which we got here makes it obvious." Ryan said, "We took so long fighting those re-hashes that she should've easily started that program."

"Carbon Reinitialization Program has been paused, awaiting orders from Mother Unit. Execution of Carbon Reinitialization Program has been paused, awaiting orders from Mother Unit…" said the voice of the computer.

"Paused?" Reps said, "But why?"

"I have been waiting for you, Megaman Trigger." Sera said, descending into the room, donning a battle body, "I could've chosen to start the program at any time, but I waited. Do you want to know why?"

"Is it because you're yet another crazy robot on the loose?" Ryan said with a laugh.

"How cute. You've brought those silly carbons with you." Sera said, "Though I must say, from what I've seen they are most formidable…at least against something like Reaverbots anyway."

"Sera! Why are you doing this?" Megaman shouted.

"Unlike you, I can't go against the system. That is why I cannot comprehend why the Master chose to destroy the system. I am jealous of you." Sera said.

"Sera…" Megaman said in a sad tone.

"You were close to the master; you understood his thoughts in a way I never could." Sera said, "Perhaps I can purge these thoughts by destroying you! Now show me what a 1st class Purifier Unit can do Trigger!"

"So, any ideas for her?" Ryan asked, striking a stance.

"Yeah, don't get pinned in a corner." Megaman said, running around while firing shots off at Sera, "She is strong and we're on Elysium this time."

"Ha…Trigger. How's this?" Sera said, waving her hand as the room changed color.

"Dammit, not the gravity again." Dark said, throwing a blast of energy at Sera.

"Ow…stupid carbon. Take this!" Sera said, charging into Dark.

"Argh!" Dark said, getting plowed into the wall.

"That is why the carbons are weak. Their emotions let them think they are superior." Sera said.

"Heh…you think we're the weak ones." Ryan said, "Emotions are what allowed the Master to see how this cold, sterile world was wrong. If anyone is weak, it's you."

"Silence!!" Sera shouted, sending out waves of lighting at our heroes.

"Oh, it would seem you touched a nerve Ryan." Reps said.

"None of you will leave here…a…live…what is happening?" Sera said, having trouble moving, "Gatts is…attempting to assist you…by invading my internals."

"Trigger! Now!" Ryan shouted.

"Sorry Sera, but I can't let you pull off your plan!" Megaman said, pulling out his Blade arm and slicing through Sera.

"I don't understand…a Servitory unit such as Gatts should not be able to disobey the system. Still, a Mother Unit like myself is superior. This is nothing more than a distraction." Sera said, "When we last fought, Yuna imprisoned me on Terra. Now, it is you who shall be imprisoned Trigger! AHHHHHHH!"

-----------------------

"Ugh…where…where are we?" Ryan said, shaking his head, "Dark? Reps? Trigger?"

Dark and Reps were still unconscious, but Ryan could see Megaman waking up as well.

"Trigger! Where are we?" Ryan said, running over and helping his friend up.

"Sera…she's close." Megaman said, "There!"

"Now…shall we continue?" Sera said, now transformed into a huge butterfly like battle body.

"I'm open to suggestions." Trigger said, running out of the way of Sera's laser attacks.

"Well…she's big, she's powerful, and Dark and Reps are knocked out." Ryan said, "If only I had a stronger weapon."

"Your weapon…it's a Keysaber right?" Trigger said, jumping out of the way as Sera flew past.

"Yeah, it is a Key. Why do you ask?" Ryan said, throwing it at Sera, but watching it barely do any damage before returning to him.

"Well, if you can control that Key, then maybe you can control the Keys here. Concentrate and see if you can use them!" Megaman said, firing more shots at Sera.

"Annoyances! Why must you struggle uselessly?" Sera said, swatting at Megaman, "Do you really believe that carbon could ever wield that which he doesn't understand?"

"Ryan…" Megaman said, kneeling down, "…is no ordinary carbon."

"Where did that power come from?" Sera said, turning around and seeing Ryan glowing.

"What is this? I know that ordinary carbons are not capable of such abilities." Sera said.

"I can sense them." Ryan said, his eyes closed, "They are close."

Raising his arms, Ryan sent a signal out towards the Keys, which soon appeared around him.

"But how!? How can a mere carbon control the Keys?" Sera said in surprise.

"Simple. I'm no ordinary person…I'm the Keyblade Master!" Ryan shouted, flying towards Sera in a blur of energy.

"No! Stop!!!" Sera shouted, raising her arms to block the attack, but it was too late as Ryan flew right through her.

"Sera…" Megaman said, standing back up.

Ryan landed next to her, soon returning to normal as the keys fell to the ground.

"Whenever I looked at the Master, I detected a sadness in his eyes." Sera said, her body began to fall apart, "The more I served the system, the sadder the Master was. Maybe now, thanks to you Trigger, perhaps the Master will smile at me too."

"Sera…" Megaman said.

"I'm sorry Trigger. I didn't mean to…" Ryan said, looking down.

"Don't think you're getting off that easily." Yuna said, appearing in the mysterious area, "If you had a shell you could transfer your main programs over, right?"

"Yuna?" Megaman said.

"You can't fool me, I know you can hear me! Still going to ignore me? Let me tell you something!" Yuna shouted, "Now that Elysium is no longer functioning, the old system on Terra has started up again. If you die and it takes over, the Master's work was for nothing."

"Do you mean to say that the elder system is now active?" Sera said, now in Yuna's old body.

"Oh, my head…did we beat the crazy chick yet?" Dark said, waking up finally.

"Yes…we beat the "crazy" chick Dark." Ryan said, "She's also standing right there."

"Oh…you look better now." Dark said with a laugh.

"It would seem I'm still moving as well." Reps said, "Don't everyone, you know, get up and help me."

"My such interesting carbons." Sera said, "Maybe going to Terra with you guys would be worthwhile."

"Why Sera, are you smiling?" Yuna said with a laugh, "I can't remember the last time you did that."

"Hey, I just realized something…how do we get out of here if Gatts is gone?" Megaman said.

-------------------------------

Central Area

"Well, I guess we're stuck here until someone shows up." Ryan said, "I can't contact our ship for some reason, so we can't use that to help."

"You know, I've had the strangest feeling about this place…ever since we showed up." Reps said, "Like something…is calling me."

"What are you talking about?" Megaman said.

"I don't know…just something about here feels…familiar." Reps said.

"The analysis of your system I took while you were unconscious does reveal you were built with similar technology from an earlier Elysium." Yuna said.  
"Why would that be though?" Sera said, "Aren't you a carbon like the others?"

"Not really…is there anyone else here besides you guys?" Reps said.

"Not that I can recall." Sera said, "But there was one place. It always seemed to draw power occasionally, but it's from an ancient part of the system."

"Do you know which way it is?" Dark said.

------------------------

Central Area: Original Program

"So this is the place?" Ryan asked.

"Yes…this is it. Though it's odd, usually the portal to this section isn't working." Sera said.

"The feeling…it's even stronger." Reps said, "It's coming from that building."

"There shouldn't be anything there though." Sera said.

"Well, the door's all lit up, let's see if we can't get it open." Megaman said.

Together, the group of heroes was able to open up the door and gasped at what they found inside…

-------------------------

Meanwhile on Terra

"All systems ready!" Roll shouted, "Let's go save Megaman!"

"This thing should fly now, after all the work we put into it. I hope they haven't gotten too bored up there." Tron said, "Fire the main ignition!"

"Firing!" Servbot #21 shouted, pressing the GO! button.

The makeshift rocket built by both Roll and Tron Bonne took off, bound for the remains of Elysium.

"Well, there they go." Barrel said, "I hope they managed to find them."

"I'm sure they will. After all, those two are very determined after all." Bluecher said, fanning himself.

"Argh, as much as I hate to admit it, I hope that both blue boy and key boy are all right." Tiesel said, sipping some tea.

-------------------------

Original Program

"X?!?!?!?!?" Ryan shouted loudly at seeing what appeared to be the remains of yet another close ally of his.

"Errrrgh…who's…Ryan?" X said, his body hooked up to a number of wires, "How…possible?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Ryan said, "What happened to you?"

"The ravages of time I'm afraid." X said, waking up, "It's been over 3000 years since I last saw you."

"3000 years?!" Dark shouted, "Does that mean you created Elysium?"

"In a way, I suppose I did." X said, "A lot has happened. A few years after you left, Zero disappeared and I never found him. Soon, I became distant and then my programming disappeared. Someone cloned me and then, well, the clone was a tad insane. He created this place for the humans and cast out the reploids."

"I don't understand though, we've only been out for a year." Reps said.

"But more than a year has passed." Megaman said, "Maybe time goes different for us."

"That might be correct. Time may move differently in areas of the cosmos." X said, "Regardless, I soon awoke again and discovered Zero was alive, though looking quite different. After helping him, I finally managed to defeat Copy X and regain my body, but it was all for naught."

"So, you're what's left of the original system?" Yuna asked, "So you could help stop the Terra system from reactivating!"

"I wish I could, but my powers are barely anything anymore." X said, "I have to stay chained up here or I'd power off."

"Well…I wish we could help." Ryan said, "It sounds like something bad happened."

"Well, it's alright, I…wait a minute." X said, "Something is showing…a rocket?"

"Could it be Roll?" Megaman asked.

"This isn't good…the old system defense took over after your little battle. The only way to stop it is…" X said.

"X? What's the matter?" Ryan said.

"I'm connected to the old system defenses for Elysium. If I blow myself up, a chain reaction will occur. It'll kill me, but it'll stop the defenses." X said, "Go…go to the spaceship port! I'm going to repent for what's happened!"

"X!" Ryan shouted as he was dragged out by Dark, "You don't have to do this!"

"Ryan…let him." Dark said, "I don't want him to go either, but he needs this. He needs a noble way out."

"I understand…X. Goodbye." Ryan said, closing the door.

"Thank you, my friends." X said, overloading his circuits.

---------------------------

Elysium Spaceport

"There they are!" Megaman shouted, "But the weapons are still locked onto them!"

"I wonder if that unit managed to do his job?" Sera said, "His systems were quite old."

"He won't let us down." Ryan said, "I know he won't."

As if on cue, an electrical surge blew through the weapons systems as they shorted out and fell down, followed by the sound of an explosion.

"X…you did it." Dark said with a smile, "One day we'll meet again."

---------------------------

Space

"So, what happened up here guys?" Roll asked.

"A lot of things." Megaman said, "But…Elysium is no longer a threat."

"Thanks to us…and X." Reps said, "I wonder…"

"What's up Reps?" Ryan asked, "Something on your mind?"

"I wonder if…Elysium and Terra…are they the future of X's world?" Reps asked.

"The future? What are you guys talking about?" Tron asked.

"It's nothing." Reps said, "We almost back?"

"Yeah…we'll be there soon." Roll said.

---------------------------

Terra

"Well guys, it was fun." Ryan said, "But now that it's all over, we have to get back to our ship."

"I'm glad you guys could come back." Megaman said, "You helped a lot."

"Nah, we just got lucky." Dark said.

"Seriously, I don't think things would've gone as smooth without you." Roll said.

"I know, but I was trying to be humble about it." Dark said.

The group laughed at Dark's usual joking around as usual.

"Well, I'm sure you guys have work to do." Reps said, "You've got to take care of that old system here in the Ruins. Here, take this Trigger."

"What is it?" Megaman said, looking over the oddly shaped canister.

"It's something I cooked up, it's a new weapon for you." Reps said, "Just use it if something impossible confronts you. I'm sure Roll can refine it."

"I bet I can! Anything with your future tech must be cool!" Roll said, grabbing the canister from Megaman and looking it over.

"Here, take this." Sera said, handing Ryan a charm, "You showed me the strength of the carbons and what the Master saw in them. You wielded the Keys well and it should reflect as such."

"Awesome! I got a new Keychain! Upgrade!" Ryan shouted, attaching it to his Keysaber.

"Do-do-do-dooooo-doot! Do-do-doo-dooooo-dooooot! Do-do-do! Do-do-doot! Do-dooooo-do-do-do-dooo!" Ryan hummed, "I've got the 'Elysium' Keysaber!!"

(A/N: Give yourself a cookie if you know what theme he just hummed. XP)

"My, that was amusing." Yuna said with a laugh, "I wish you didn't have to go, but I'm sure you're needed where you belong."

"Right. You guys take care. Maybe we'll see you again." Ryan said, walking off while contacting Gilliam.

"Good luck Trigger. I'm sure you can finish what X started." Reps said, heading off to join Ryan.

"Trigger, you're something else. Heh, maybe one day you can be as good as me." Dark said, looking over his shades, "And Roll, thanks for the fun."

"What does he mean by that Roll?" Megaman said, rather confused.

As the three heroes beamed up to their ship, Roll stood there with a puzzled look upon her face.

"The Plothole of No Return?" Roll said, "What kind of weapon is that?"

-----------------------

Outlaw Star

"I trust that your adventure went well?" Gilliam said.

"Yeah, but I'm beat." Ryan said, slumping in his chair, "Let's take a break before heading to the next world."

"Ryan? About what I was talking about earlier?" Reps said.

"I think it might be possible, but…I'm not sure." Ryan said, "Even so, I'm not sure that wasn't some remnant of a memory. I know the real X wouldn't do that. We'll find out when we run into him again. I know we will."

"You're right. Maybe then we can find some closure." Reps said, "I'm going to go recharge. You and Dark should get some rest too."

"You heard the man Gilliam, go into standby mode and alert us if anything happens." Ryan said, leaning back on the couch and turning off the lights.

"Acknowledged then. Have a good rest." Gilliam said, turning down the power.

Dark, meanwhile, had returned to his room and sat down.

"Ugh…I feel weird." Dark said, taking off his shades, "What is going on with me?"

Lying down, Dark felt as if something was going on that he couldn't control.

"I wonder…what's going to happen to me? And I wonder…if I fall asleep again…will I dream of that place?" Dark said, closing his eyes, "Maybe that place, has some answers."

With that our intrepid heroes were soon asleep, floating silently through space.


	3. Grind the LightsHeartastic?

**DDR HEARTS 2: **

**Grind the Lights…Heartastic?**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

**---------------------**

"Ugh…oh great, I'm back here again." Dark said, standing up and brushing off his clothing, "At least now I can look at my map and see what this hell hole is named."

Unfolding the map, Dark scanned the right corner where he had vaguely seen the lettering earlier.

"The hell? It's all faded out." Dark said, "There's just a B, some scratched-out marks, and then an L at the end of it. What the hell is going on?"

Suddenly, Dark heard the CD/radio he had picked up earlier go haywire.

"The hell?" Dark said, suddenly noticing his ranting had attracted the attention of some nasty looking fellows, "Great. Just what I need, more of you guys! Bring it!"

Rearing back, Dark swung at the closest one with his metal pole and heard a sickening crunch as its head caved in and it slumped to the ground.

"Any of you other freaks of nature want some?" Dark shouted angrily before a loud noise filled the air, "Ack! That noise! It's so piercing!"

Dark clutched his head, watching the monsters leave in response to this sound, and trying to remain conscious despite the sharp sting the noise was giving him.

Eventually, the noise died down and Dark could stand up normally.

"That sounded like some old WWII style siren that cross-faded with some disco music, but that shouldn't have hurt me that much. My hearing isn't that acute…is it?" Dark said aloud to himself more than anything, "Anyway, I recall hearing a noise north of here, so maybe someone else is in this hellhole as well."

Heading north, Dark came across what appeared to be a huge hole right in the middle of the street.

"Well that's weird. The map I have doesn't say there's supposed to be a street here that intersects right through town. I'm not sure what could've caused such devastation, but giving my track record, it's not good." Dark said, looking at the map for an alternate route, "Well, I guess I could…wait a minute, I can fly. Smarter, not harder Dark."

Dark jumped up into the air to jump-start his flight, but kept falling back down to the ground.

"What's going on here? I can't fly?" Dark said, "First I can't call my Keysaber and now I've lost the ability to fly. I really do not like this place. I wonder if I can still fire energy."

Looking for a suitable target, Dark concentrated and attempted to fire a blast from his palm at a nearby trashcan.

To Dark's relief, a small blast of energy shot forth and blew the trashcan apart.

"Well, at least I can still do…" Dark said, before clutching his chest and falling to the ground, "The hell…that's not how that works. Something about this place, it doesn't like me using my powers. I can't fly, summon my Keysaber for some reason, and now firing even a small attack like that drains my life energy. Great!"

Shaking off this unpleasant revelation, Dark found another street that led towards what he had heard and soon came across the remains of a few of those creatures.

"Well, something killed those things." Dark said, "Hopefully something human…or at least friendly."

Suddenly, a gunshot rang forth quite close to where Dark was, perhaps two blocks or so away.

"A gun? Well, seems that person is still in trouble." Dark said, gripping his metal pole tightly, "Better go lend a hand."

"Dammit all! Where do you flecking things keep coming from?" shouted a dirty-blonde haired, familiar hero.

"Ryan?!" Dark said, taking one of the creatures down and accompanying his other half.

"Dark?! The hell are you doing here?!" Ryan said, letting loose another shot from his 9mm handgun, dropping two more of the creatures.

"Later, I think we should focus on finding a safe spot for now." Dark said, looking around and seeing nothing, "They're there though…this radio thing I picked up…it can detect them somehow."

"Heh, well that's handy. Good luck on that hiding spot idea, most doors I've tried around here are either locked or the doorknob's busted." Ryan said, "Add in that I can't seem to use my Keysaber or most of my powers and I'm already sick of this place."

"Well, standing here won't do us any good." Dark said, pulling out his map, "Huh? This place wasn't circled before."

"You found a map? You and your luck." Ryan said with a smirk, "What's circled anyway?"

"An arcade…how fitting." Dark said, "It's down this road a ways and then to the left. I'm not liking this though, it seems ominous."

"Tell me about it, when we find a safe spot, I have got some crazy shit to explain to you." Ryan said, walking slightly sideways so as to keep an eye on more of his surroundings.

"Good idea, I'll walk while looking the opposite way." Dark said, as the two headed down the street towards the location marked on the map.

"Well, I'm thankful that one, we got here without incident, and two, the door wasn't locked." Ryan said, sitting down on an old stool next to some rundown ticket machines.

"Perhaps…now, care to explain what's up with you being here?" Dark said, rummaging around for any kind of useful things.

"Charmy, Scott, and myself…we finally got to go on that cross-country road-trip we had been planning, remember?" Ryan asked.

Dark had recalled something like that, and just nodded.

"Well, we were finishing up our trip in the northeast section when we were run off the road by someone." Ryan said, "The car plowed into a tree and all I remember is waking up with Charmy gone and Scott…well, he's off being Scott as usual. He left a note saying he was going to scout around and never came back. I've seen signs around town that he's still alive though. I wouldn't be surprised if that radio was his doing."

"Here, catch." Dark said, tossing Ryan a soda, "It's still cold too. I'm sure you could use it."

"Thanks. It's been hell. Without my powers, I was using one of Scott's swords till I found this little cache of armaments. I've still got a decent amount of 9mm ammo left and a nice, hefty auto-shotgun thanks to the one door I was able to get into before this. I've also got some oddly shaped keys that I think go to certain doors, but I'm not sure." Ryan said, "What about you? Why are you here?"

Dark sat down across from Ryan and took a sip of his drink.

"To be honest, I don't know. All I can recall is waking up at the outskirts of, whatever here is, seeing some creepy reflection of myself in a bathroom mirror, then entering town and finding this map." Dark said.

"Hmmm…that's weird. I wonder if you were drawn here, as I now suspect we might have been." Ryan said, "Oh…there's two things I need to warn you about."

"You mean those freaky sirens?" Dark said, "I still feel loopy from that high-pitched insanity."

"What are you talking about? It's not that loud. Annoying, yeah, but not loud enough to do that." Ryan said, "Are you sure you're okay Dark?"

"Yeah…anyway, just continue." Dark said, "What else do I need to be careful about?"

"Well, I've only had one encounter with this creature before, but you need to be very wary against him." Ryan said, "He can't be hurt by any weapons I've got and he carries a huge guitar as a weapon."

"Naota?" Dark said jokingly.

"I'm serious dammit! He's got a huge afro that obscures his face completely, he doesn't say anything at all, and just staring at him made me freeze up." Ryan said, crushing his can, "If someone can have that affect on me, then he's some bad business."

"So this, "Afro-head", how can you tell if he's near?" Dark said, "I mean, if he's as crazy as you say he is then I'm not sure the radio would pick him up. Sounds like a boss monster if anything."

"Well, I have noticed a correlation between him and the sirens." Ryan said, "When I was fighting him, the sirens went off into this distorted disco thing, Afro-head put his guitar back on his back, and then just walked off with this funky boogie in his step."

"What is this fricked up place?" Dark said, "I mean, monsters, a guy with a huge afro that uses a guitar as a weapon, and our powers aren't working right."

"I'm not sure; I'm thinking this place might have some type of mythical properties to it. I did find something funny about the name of this place though." Ryan said.

"The name? You know the name of this place?!" Dark said, almost a little too anxious.

"Yeah…isn't it on that map of yours?" Ryan said, a little spooked by Dark's outburst.

"No, it was there but for some reason all but two letters were scratched out." Dark said, handing Ryan the map.

"Huh, that's odd." Ryan said, handing the map back, "But anyway, I can tell you the name of this blind spot of humanity. Its name is…"

Just then, a loud noise draws their attention to the doorway…

-------------------------------

Outlaw Star

"Dammit!" Dark said, waking up, "I didn't find out the name of that place again. I wonder though, if Ryan was there, was he dreaming of this place as well?"

Getting dressed, Ryan headed towards the living areas and saw Ryan there already, pacing back and forth.

"Ryan?" Dark asked, "What's the matter? Did you have that dream too?"

"Which dream? You mean the one where all holy hell has apparently broken loose in some godforsaken town I don't even know of and we're all smack dab in the middle of it?" Ryan said.

"Um, yeah, that would be the one." Dark said, sweatdropping a bit, "You always were one not to mince words."

"I'm not sure what those dreams mean…but let's not worry about them unless something really bad occurs." Ryan said, "We've got enough to deal with right now besides some vague foreshadowing from the author."

"What's all the racket?" Reps said, seeing Ryan and Dark discussing something, "Did I miss breakfast?"

"I'm afraid food will have to wait." Gilliam said, "It appears we're coming close to our destination."

"Well, let's assume our positions and prepare for teleportation then." Reps said, "But I still want breakfast."

--------------------------

Bus Terminal

"Dude, I'm still not used to teleporting like that." Dark said, "Whoa! Everything's so bright and shiny here!"

"Yeah, we're looking none too shabby either." Ryan said, "Looks like we got a world-exclusive costume makeover guys."

"At least I got to keep my jacket." Dark said, "And hey, skates! Weird looking skates though."

"Well, maybe we should find out where we are or find whoever's supposed to be the good guys here?" Reps said.

"Hold it right there you three!" shouted a man in a brown trenchcoat, "You under arrest for the mess you made of the bus terminal!"

"Hey, who's the Zenigata reject yelling at us?" Dark said, "We didn't do anything wrong. It was like this when we got here."

"Reject?! I'm Captain Onishima of the Tokyo police and you stupid ruddes thought when Goji's son took over that everything would be hunky doory didn't you!" Onishima said, waving his gun about, "But now things have changed and I'm taking you in!"

"Well, as interesting as that all sounds, we're going now!" Ryan said, dashing off in the opposite direction with Dark and Reps.

"Dammit all get back here!" Onishima shouted, chasing after them with his troops.

Above the platforms, a group of three individuals overlooked this scene with curiosity.

"Should we help them?" said a girl wearing a long grey and green outfit.

"If Onishima is chasing them, then maybe they know what's going on." Said a guy wearing a funky pair of headphones and shades.

--------------------------

Alleyway

"Huff, that was a lot of fun." Dark said, catching his breath, "This skating thing is kind of hard."

"Tell me about it. It just had to be inline skates, didn't it?" Ryan said, shaking his head, "Hey, where are we anyway?"

"I'm not sure, but what do you make of this symbol?" Reps said, pointing at a tag made up of two G's overlapping one another.

"I'm not sure." Ryan said, pushing it and falling through a door that opened.

"Ah, they found it." Said a man wearing a blue cap, "Guess you were right Beat."

"Beat?" Dark said, walking over Ryan and coming inside, "What is this place?"

"Just hurry up and get in here dammit." Shouted a female wearing black shorts and a black shirt, "You guys are such amateurs."

"Okay, now that I'm no longer in pain." Ryan said, sitting down, "So, I take it you're the good guys here, eh?"

"I suppose you could say that." Beat said, "I'm Beat and that doofus in the sweatshirt over there is Yo-Yo."

"Hey, that was uncalled for yo." Yo-Yo said, glaring at Beat.

"The lovely ladies over there are Gum and Cube." Beat said, "And the fun guy sitting next to you is Tab."

"So, what's going on here exactly?" Dark said, "We're sorta out of the loop, so to speak."

"Okay, I suppose we have to go back to three months ago." Beat said.

"Wait, are we initiating a flashback?" Reps asked.

"Yeah, why?" Beat asked.

"No reason. Just wanted to make sure." Reps said, "Wavy, wavy, wavy…"

------------------

Flashback: Shibuya Terminal 3 months ago

"It's great and all that Goji's son has kept the cops off our backs." Beat said, "Really let's us express ourselves."

"I suppose." Gum said, "But it almost doesn't feel the same."

"I still think we got a raw deal yo." Yo-Yo said, "We saved the city from Goji's insanity and we get bupkiss…yo."

"Oh well, at least the Noise Tanks and the Love Shockers keep things interesting." Beat said, "Something's been bugging me though…what happened to Poison Jam?"

"That's a good question." Gum said, "After we beat Goji, they're the only ones that didn't come back."

"Isn't that a good thing though?" Yo-Yo said, "I mean, without them, that's less competition yo."

"True, it just bugs me. Anyway, let's go maintain our turf!" Beat shouted, jumping off the platform and skating down towards the buses."

"The hell?" Gum said, "These tags…I don't recognize them at all."

"Is this some new gang or something?" Yo-Yo said, "It's all black and creepy looking. And what's with this heart symbol on it?"

"I don't know, but I do know they're stepping on our turf and we're taking it back!" Beat said, skating and tagging over them with his own tag.

-----------------------

GG's Garage Present

"That was the first time those weird tags showed up." Beat said, "After that it became more and more prevalent throughout the city. We couldn't keep up with it."

"The worse thing about it was, because they were showing up on almost anything, we got the blame for disrupting things." Gum said, "Initially Goji's son tried to reason on our behalf, but eventually things began to break down and, well, you saw what happened to you."

"This blows, yo. Things have gone back to how they used to be." Yo-Yo said, "We can't even tag how we used to, cause those mysterious black tags show up almost as soon as we finish tagging them over."

"Hmmm…can you show us what these tags look like?" Ryan asked, "I'm thinking I know what's behind this but I need to see them to be sure."

"Sure, we'll head over to Kogane-cho. They're the most prevalent there for some reason." Gum said, "Yo-Yo, you and the others hold down the fort."

"Yo, we'll keep things safe here. Take care, we don't want to lose you guys too yo." Yo-Yo said.

-----------------------

Kogane-cho Sewers

"Is there a reason we're going through the sewers?" Reps asked.

"Well, the tags seem to be accumulated down here for the most part." Beat said, "Even if it does smell like shit down here, it's the best place to get a good view of the tags."

"Let's just hurry this up. This smell is killing my nose." Dark said, skating behind.

"It's over here." Gum said, leading them down a small tunnel, "This is the most prominent of the tags that mystery gang is leaving behind."

"I knew it." Ryan said, "It is. This is the work of the Heartless."

"The Heartless?" Beat said, looking at him weird, "Who are they?"

"They're a group of creatures that steal the hearts of others because they lack such." Dark said, "Are you sure this is the only style of tag that's been used?"

"Well, there was this one tag I saw some time ago that was different." Gum said, "It was all white and such, pretty much completely opposite this one."

"The Nobodies are here too." Reps said, "We've got to be careful. If it's this bad, then the Organization may just be here as well."

"Nobodies?" Beat said, "There's more of these guys?"

"Yeah…let's hope it's just the Heartless. Those other guys are bad news." Ryan said, "Well, perhaps we should go talk to Goji's son. I figure that if anyone might know about what's going on, he should. Right?"

"Well, we did try that sometime ago. Strangely, we weren't allowed." Beat said, "I know he's the mayor and all, but we were on good terms after we stopped his dad from going crazy with the city."

"Well, you guys know the layout of this town better than us, so lead on." Reps said.

"Okay, this way guys." Beat said, skating up another tunnel.

Meanwhile, watching from a distance, a mysterious figure watches.

"Heh, so he finally made it here." Said the mysterious cloaked figure, "Guess it's time I made a move then."

--------------------

City Hall

"Look, I told you before. You may have history with the current Mayor, but we cannot allow you access." Said a hired goon for the mayor's office.

"I know that, but this is important!" Beat said, "These guys with us may have figured out who was making those weird tags around town and causing all that havoc. You at least owe us 5, maybe 10 minutes at the most if he can spare it."

"Hmmm, it could prove useful if it does work out." Said the goon, "Fine, I'll see if he'll see you in."

"Jeez, you guys weren't kidding about that, were you?" Ryan said, waiting with the others, "What was that all about anyway?"

"Well, Goji's son used to be like us." Gum said, "So he understands about the need to express oneself. Hence, when he took over after his dad went bonkers, he made things more lenient on ruddes like us."

"Ah, so that's what he meant by history then." Dark said, "Oh, here he comes."

"After deliberating, the mayor will see you. Hopefully you won't just be wasting his time." Said the goon.

"Heh, I figured he'd have some time for some old acquaintances." Beat said, "This way guys."

------------------------

Mayor's Office

"Come in, come in. Sit down fellows." Said the mayor, "It's been awhile. So, I hear that these friends of yours may know who the culprits behind all of this are."

"That's right." Beat said, "Ryan?"

"Sir, from what we've seen and know, we've deduced that these new tags are work of creatures known as the Heartless and Nobodies, most likely under control by a group known as Organization XIII." Ryan said, "As far as I can tell, though, they seem to be very good at staying invisible."

"Quite." Said the mayor, "I'd say that that's a very good guess. Yes, I know that nothing could get past you, right Ryan? And you as well Dark."

"Hey, wait a minute." Gum said, "How did you know his name?"

"Heh…you fools stumbled upon something you shouldn't have." The mayor said, being enveloped by a dark cloud, "You should've never met up with them Beat, those three are trouble."

"You aren't Goji's son! Who the hell are you?!" Beat shouted, dashing at the man, and then right through them.

"Never mind that." Said the figure, "So, it's good to see you're still the same…right Ryxrk?"

"Ryxrk?" Ryan said, looking at Dark, "You lost your mind there buddy?"

"Ryxrk? Ryxrk?! Damn." Said the figure, pulling out a card, "If the subject fails to respond, use aggression to liberate his true disposition."

"A card? You're part of the Organization aren't you?" Reps shouted.

"Boy, did they pick the wrong guy for this stuff." Said the figure, pulling out a sitar shaped weapon, "Okay. Let's dance!"

"Dance?" Ryan said, materializing his Keysaber, "Fine! Let's go!"

"Dance, Water, Dance!" shouted the figure, as water clones of himself appeared all around our heroes.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Ryan said, using the extra speed from his skates to ricochet around the room, "He uses water as an attack. Why does this seem familiar?"

"I don't know." Dark said, slicing through the water, "Plech! These things don't taste all that well, so definitely avoid getting them in your mouth."

"Well, you know Dark, maybe you shouldn't just plow into them." Reps shouted, firing his laser blasts at them, "Just some advice is all."

"Ugh, there's just so many of them. How can we…wait, I've got it!" Ryan shouted, "Beat, Gum, ever heard of a Limit Break technique."

"Limit Break?" Beat said, shaking off his fall finally and standing up, "Um, no, but if you initiate whatever this is, I guess I can follow."

"I'm game! I can't let you guys have all the fun after all." Gum said, "Let's do this!

"Okay, let's try this! Limit Break Paint Fury!" Ryan shouted, dashing in towards the water clones and stunning them.

"I've got your back Ryan!" Dark shouted, dashing in from the opposite direction, "Beat! Gum! Now!"

Beat and Gum unholstered both of their spray cans and dashed in behind Ryan and Dark respectively, unleashing a barrage of tags upon the water clones, which made them explode in a color expression of art.

"That was really cool." Reps said, "Hey, we won!"

"Damn! You guys are better than I thought. I'm Demyx and I'll be seeing you Ryxrk." Demyx said, disappearing.

"Wait!" Ryan and Dark shouted at the same time, "Damn! Who's Ryxrk?"

"Okay, I don't understand what's going on, but then where's the real Mayor?" Beat said.

Thump!

"What was that?" Gum asked.

Thump! Thump!

"It's coming from over there." Reps said, opening up a panel in the floor, "Hey, I found your friend."

After untying the Mayor and talking things out, it became apparent that Demyx was responsible for all that had happened.

"So, he's being causing havoc in my absence then, has he?" the mayor said, "Heh, that's Onishima for you. He'll believe anything if it helps him."

"Well, Demyx may be gone, but those tags are still going to be a cause for trouble." The mayor said, "Unless I can get you guys to help out."

"I think the GG's can make things looks better." Beat said with a grin, "And I think our friends will help out too."

"Hey, we'll pitch in. It's probably partially are fault anyway, since the Organization attacked here and all." Ryan said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, that settles that then…" the mayor started, till his hired goon ran in, "What's the matter?"

"Sir, something has appeared in Benten-cho. Something big!" the goon shouted.

-----------------------

Benten-cho

"Yo! Yo! Yo! This is Professor K laying down the beats and blowing away the geeks on…Jet Set Radio!!" shouted Professor K over the airwaves.

"It turns out that those weird tags were the work of some posers going by the name of the Organization. Man, those guys are wack. I haven't seen anyone that crazy since my last girlfriend thought tuna really was a chicken of the sea." Professor K shouted, "But I hear that some new upstart gang has joined with the GG's in order to stop this menace."

"This just in apparently, some funky huge creature has appeared smack dab in the middle of Benten-cho. According to my reports, it's white, tall, uglier than your landlord when your three months behind rent, and is apparently covering the city in more of those funky tags." Professor K said, "Just what are those GG's doing lazing around like this when the city needs them?! Let's just hope that this new gang is enough to set this city right again! If we survive, this is DJ Professor K continuing to bring down the funky beats to move your feet on, J-J-S-S-R! Guhroovy! Jet Set Radio!!!!"

"Huh? Who was that guy?" Ryan asked as the gang skated towards Benten-cho's high-tech district.

"That's DJ Professor K." Beat said, "He lays down all the tunes we need to tag and grind the lights fantastic in this town."

"Ah, underground radio." Dark said, "I was wondering where that background music was coming from."

"Well, we're here." Gum said, "And it looks like the others got here before us."

"Dammit, yo!" Yo-Yo said, skating around the creature, "How the hell do you beat something like that, yo?"

"Cube!" Gum shouted, "What's going on?"

"Well, while you guys were gone, the Noise Tanks showed up." Cube said, "Apparently, they'd been taken down by these white things that popped out of the tags they were trying to cover up."

"Naturally, we headed over here to see what was going on." Tab said, "Those crazy things were everywhere. Then they started dancing to some funky beat and turned into that damn thing!"

"Well, we have to figure something out before it starts destroying the city." Dark shouted, "Do you see any weak points on this thing, Ryan? Ryan? Ryan?"

Ryan was somewhat out of it, staring at the symbol on the back of the creature's head.

'That symbol. It has one of those too.' Ryan thought to himself, "I've got an idea."

"Finally." Reps said, "You were sorta out of it there."

'Yeah, sorry about that. Look, I believe that the symbol on the back of that creature's head might be the key." Ryan said, "If we focus on that, we might just be able to stop it."

"That sounds like a good plan, but how can we get up there?" Beat said, "It's not like we can fly."

Dark looked at Ryan who looked at Reps who then looked back at Dark.

"What's going on guys? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Gum asked.

"Well…" Dark started, looking at Ryan.

"Tell them, we don't have much of a choice here." Ryan said.

"Tell us what yo?" Yo-Yo asked.

"You're joking right?" Tab asked, "You're telling us that all the stars out there are in reality other worlds."

"Yeah, and we're from one called Earth. The whole reason we know about the Heartless and the Nobodies and all of that is because we've been fighting them." Ryan said.

"So you're saying you can fly, is that it?" Beat asked.

"To be short, yes." Dark said, "We usually aren't allowed to tell people we're from outside their realm, but it usually ends up happening."

"Okay. We believe you." Cube said, "So how do we defeat that thing?"

"I figure that we need someone to distract it." Ryan said, "While a group of us distract that thing, the rest of us find a way up to that weak spot. Besides, you guys can fly too, I've seen you grind on your skates."

"Yo, I'm up for this. Let's take down this fool!" Yo-Yo said, pulling out his spray cans.

"I don't think so!" shouted Onishima, coming out of the alleyways with his group of cops.

"Dammit, not this again." Ryan said.

"Calm down dammit, I don't like this anymore than you do." Onishima said, signaling his troops to hand two boxes over to him, "The mayor sent these, saying that based on what, Dmeyx, Demxy, Demyx…whatever his name is left behind while he was controlling the town, you should be able to use these to stop him."

Handing the boxes to Reps, he slowly opened them.

"Wait, why am I opening the mystery box?" Reps said.

"Cause you're a robot, and we really don't trust Onishima too much?" Tab said with a shrug.

"That's the worst type of discrimination, the kind against me." Reps said, grumbling while opening the box, "Paint cans? How are paint cans going to take down this stupid thing?"

"Hey, I'm just delivering the weapons, I don't make them." Onishima said, leaving.

"Well, you guys know how to use these things." Reps said, throwing them at the GG's, "We'll do what we can to distract him, you concentrate on tagging that mark on his neck."

"Hey ugly!" Ryan shouted, flying up in front of the creature and waving his fanny at it, "Looking for me?"

Growling in anger, the Nobody creature reared his arm back and attempted to smack Ryan.

"Don't think so." Ryan said, blocking his attack with his Keysaber, "We're playing by my rules now."

"Heads up!" Dark shouted, landing a devastating blow upside the monster's head.

"That was a lame pun, Dark." Reps said, hovering there in disgust, "Just thought I'd let you know."

"Yeah, but we've got to keep this thing's attention on us to give the GG's enough time to spray it's symbol." Dark said.

"Why don't you used god-mod and fly them up there?" Reps asked, dodging the creatures attack.

"We can't rely on that too much, plus we've got to keep things original, you know?" Ryan said, "Otherwise the few fans we have garnered will leave us and well, we don't want that."

"Hmmm, valid point." Reps said, firing at the creature's torso, "Let's have fun with this then."

"Well, they seem to be keeping it busy." Beat commented, sliding up some piping, "Let's just hope they can hold it off long enough."

"Heh, this should be no problem, yo." Yo-yo yoed, "It's just one big white canvas that needs some beautifying."

"Well, we're almost there, despite the fact that it keeps moving." Cube lamented, "Hopefully the others are keeping up on the other side."

"There's the tag!" Beat exclaimed, readying his paint can, "Let's light this turkey up!"

"Mwhahahahahahahaha." Came from the tag.

"The hell?" Beat said in confusion, "Who's that?"

"Heh, you fools…you could never truly get rid of me." Proclaimed a figure coming out of the tag, "Though I will say, that fall did do a number to me. Hell has not been kind to me for my corruption."

"I know that voice." Cube seethed, "Goji…"

"Ah, yes…you do remember me." Goji stated, "Well, let's say we have a proper reunion then."

Fully materializing from the tag, Goji slowly transformed into a white, monstrous version of himself.

"Mwhahahaha! The power of these creatures…the Organization would be most pleased to have this world in their control." Goji roared, swiping at Beat.

"Ack!" Beat said, jumping out of the way and flopping onto the ground hard, "Oh man…so uncool."

"Beat!" Gum shouted, seeing the carnage, "Tab! We've got to hurry, they need our help."

"Hey, I'm skating as fast as I can dammit." Tab panted, "All this clothing I wear makes it quite constricting to move."

"Um, guys, I think something has gone wrong." Reps said, noting that Beat had faceplanted.

"Crap, we need to help them." Ryan said, "Reps, you've got to give them a hand, Dark and I are pretty sure we can take care of this end."

"Are you sure?" Reps questioned, "We've been having some trouble at the moment keeping this thing distracted."

"Oh, don't worry, we've been working on something and have wanted to use it." Ryan said, striking a pose.

"Way ahead of you partner." Dark said, mirroring the pose, "It's fusion time!!"

"Fusion! Wapoh!" Dark and Ryan shouted, fusing together, "We have become one."

"You look a little different, who are you?" Reps asked, puzzled by the new look.

"We have become the next generation of fusion, we are Kurayami Kouki!" shouted double K as he stroke a pose.

Meanwhile, in the deep recesses of space….

"Agh!" a cloaked figure grimaced, clutching his forehead in agony.

"Yoshi, what's the matter?" shouted a similarly cloaked figure.

"It's unbearable." Yoshi said, slowly getting up, "I felt a great disturbance in the worlds, as if someone has done the unthinkable."

"What was it then?" the figure asked.

"Someone made a horrible, horrible, horrible Bemani pun." Scott shouted.

Back with the gang…

"Oooookay then, I'll be going to help them." Reps sighed out, dashing away to help Beat and the gang.

"No one ever appreciates our subtle jokes." Kouki sighed, before dashing towards the beat, "Have at you!!"

"Heh, you fools have gotten soft while I was gone." Goji cackled, "I guess all that suffering was worth it if I can take you down."

"Not so fast!" Reps shouted, landing a fierce kick upside Goji's head, "It's time for verse two of this funky beat!"

"Yo, that was so corny, yo!" Yo-yo said, "Still, the assist is appreciated."

"You? Who are you?" Goji said, "Ah, you must be one of those brats that key kid knows. Heh, you aren't on my list, but I suppose helping take you out can be a bonus."

"Heh, you wish." Reps scoffed, "I've taken on worse than you and survived, so let's go then!"

Reps charged up his wrist blaster and let loose a barrage at Goji.

"Heh, you think that's enough to stop me?" Goji spat, "You don't have enough power."

"You're such an idiot!" Cube shouted, dashing through the smoke cloud Reps had created and laying into Goji with the special paint can.

"Argh!!" Goji grunted, "Oh, you little bitch!"

Winding back, Goji smacked into Cube and sent her flying.

"Cube!" Yo-yo shouted, "Damn, we can't catch her yo!"

'Ah man, this is going to hurt.' Cube managed to think, her head reeling.

"Gotcha!" shouted Kouki, catching her and gently setting her down, "Nice try, but I think you need to rest now."

"Who are you?" Cube asked, before passing out.

"Whoa, who's that guy?" Beat asked, slightly puzzled.

"Oh, that's Ryan and Dark. They sorta fused together." Reps said, "I guess they thrashed this thing enough to knock it out."

"You got it." Kouki said, rising up and even with the others, "So, what's the hold up guys? It can't be that hard to tag someone."

"Heh, says the guy who couldn't tag to save his life." Tab chuckled, "We ran into an old friend and he's being a bit of a pain."

"Ah, I see, well then." Kouki said, rearing back his hands, "Let's see how he does when separated from the source."

"You fool!" Goji shouted, "Do you really think I'd let you get close to me?"

"Don't have to." Kouki smirked, "My weapon's gonna do it for me."

"Your…weapon?" Goji looked around, noticing it wasn't in his hands, "Oh crap!"

"Slice and Dice time!" Kouki exclaimed, swiping his hand in a horizontal motion that sent his Keysabers slicing right through the tether Goji had to the creature.

"Noooooooooooooooo!" Goji shouted, falling off the creature and plummeting to the ground below with a splat before fading away.

"Well, that was easier than it should've been." Kouki said while sweatdropping, "So, you guys gonna finish this thing or what?"

"Oh yeah, there's still that thing to deal with." Beat said, twirling his paint cans, "It's Taggin' Time!"

"Ugh, and you said my thing was lame." Reps commented with a sign.

----------------------------

GG's hideout

"So, now that's everything's back to normal, does this mean you guys are leaving?" Beat asked.

"Yeah, now that the Organization has moved on, we need to continue after them." Ryan sighed, "It seems like it won't end sometimes."

"Stay strong, yo." Yo-yo said, "I'm sure things will chill for you soon enough, yo!"

"Heh, yo." Dark chuckled, "You sure do say that a lot. Anyway, tell the mayor to take care and keep an eye out."

"We will." Gum nodded, "Oh, here, this was in the box with the spray cans. I figured you could take it, you know, as a memento."

"Sweet!" Dark exclaimed, attaching it to his Keysaber, "I've got the Jet Set Keysaber!"

"Is he always like this?" Cube asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sadly, yes, but it keeps things interesting." Reps said with a chuckle, "Well, take care guys."

"Don't be strangers." Cube said with a grin and a grimace, "Ow…"

"We won't." Ryan waved as the three of them teleported away.

-----------------------------

Outlaw Star

"Oh my, you're back sooner than anticipated." Gilliam said, "I trust that all was successful?"

"You bet." Ryan sighed, "I'm exhausted though."

"You're telling me." Dark said, flopping onto the couch, "That new fusion really wore me out."

"Well, shall I plot for the next course?" Gilliam suggested, "Or do you wish to take a break before we continue our adventure?"

"What is this, a save point?" Reps chuckled, "Where is our next location anyway?"

"Well, the charts we currently have point towards only one course at the moment." Gilliam dictated, pulling up a chart.  
"Huh, says we have to pass by this place to get there." Ryan said, pointing at the map, "What is this planet?"

"Odd, my memory files have no description of that particular region of space." Gilliam said, "I'm as stumped as you are I'm afraid."

"And you call yourself the most advanced spaceship." Dark muttered with a laugh.

"Grrr…we'll see how funny you think that is the next time you're sleeping." Gilliam muttered, "Oh my, did I say that? What is happening to my controls? I swear that being around you is more detrimental than my old crew was."


	4. A Demon in the Rough

**DDR HEARTS 2: **

**A Demon in the Rough**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

**---------------------**

Outlaw Star

"Oh. My. God!" Dark shouted, flopping down onto the floor after returning to space.

"Are you okay? My word, what happened while I was down?" Gilliam asked, noting all three of their somewhat disheveled appearances.

"Well, you remember that planet we had no information on?" Ryan said, sitting down and clearing his head, "Well, we have plenty of info for it now."

"What I don't understand is how you goofed up like that and then left me to manually land." Reps questioned, "I thought you were in good condition."

"I am. I dare say though that your adventures are more trying than my old ones ever were." Gilliam said, "So, what did you find out?"

"Well, apparently that planet can support life, as it has an oxygenated surface and moderate temperature differences." Ryan stated, "Then we get to the other parts."

"Other parts?" Gilliam queried, "What does that mean?"

"CATGIRLS!!" Dark shouted, coming out of his brief nap, "So. Many. Catgirls!"

"Catgirls?" Gilliam asked with about as much confusion as a computer can, "What does that mean?"

"Just that." Ryan stated with a laugh, "The planet was populated by nothing but catgirls…well, that's almost the full story."

"That's not the end of it?" Gilliam said in disbelief.

"Nope, because these catgirls…they were one hundred feet tall." Reps said, "Hence why our ecchi buddy there is a little overly worn out. They all wanted him when they found us."

"So I take it you managed to escape?" Gilliam asked.

"Well, not really. I mean, they were pretty smart so they didn't really see us as less than them per se." Ryan said.

"Says you, they wanted to keep poor Dark as a pet." Reps said.

"Catgirls." Dark murmured before falling asleep.

"Hey, you can't tell me you didn't enjoy that place just a little bit." Ryan stated, elbowing Reps.

"Okay, I'll grant you that, but what about you? You have Charmy." Reps said, elbowing him back.

"Yeah, you're right. Doesn't mean I'd insult them by not admiring their beauty." Ryan chuckled, "Nothing worse than pissing off a catgirl…and then when she's a hundred feet tall. Yeah, you don't do things to anger them. Hammer space is an unpleasant reality."

"Okay, point noted." Reps said, "I need to recharge, so I'm taking a nap, you should too."

"Right, I'll get right on it." Ryan said, picking up Dark.

"Mmmmm…" Dark murmured; a grimace on his face.

"Oh, by the way Gilliam." Ryan whispered, "Make a note of that planet's location…just in case."

"Oh my, and to think I thought I was no longer around such nonsensical behavior with you." Gilliam said, "Location noted then. Enjoy your sleep. We should be at our original destination in 4 hours."

"Gotcha." Ryan said, lugging Dark to his room and then crashing in his own bed before falling asleep.

-------------------------

"Ready yourself!" Ryan said, pulling out his shotgun, "It could be anything!"

The door's burst open and in came…

"Don't shoot!" shouted a familiar figure.

Ryan, not thinking and his nerves shot, fired at the figure but missed by a wide margin.

"Eeck!" exclaimed the figure, "What's wrong with you?! I said not to shoot!"

"Sorry, Scott, I'm just jumpy after what I've had to deal with here." Ryan said, "Wait…Scott!?"

"Yeah, it's me. I guess that means you've been able to survive." Scott suggested, "Ah, Dark. You're in this hellhole too, eh?"

"Tell me about it. At least you two know what brought you here, I just woke up on the outskirts…and that's about it." Dark said, crushing his drink can and throwing it in the garbage.

"This place is really freaky." Scott said, "I take it you've run into our guitar slinging, afro-toting friend."

"I have, but Dark hasn't run into him yet. Just those demonic things out there that enjoy spitting." Ryan nodded, "So, find anything out?"

"Just this piece of info…Charmy is here and she seems okay." Scott sighed, "Oddly, it's almost like she can't see these things. I watched her walk right past one of them."

"Hmm…maybe there's some type of requirements for seeing them." Dark stated, "I'm not sure what, but that's a good a guess as any."

"Well, it seems you're a little under-equipped Dark." Scott said, "Maybe I should upgrade you a bit."

"I suppose I would need a new weapon or something, seeing as our powers don't really work well or have a backlash here." Dark sighed, "So then, what might you have for me to have fun with?"

"Well, let's see." Scott said, pulling open his trenchcoat, "I think you can use this Katana and I'm sure you can have fun with this SMG. Here's some ammo for that thing as well, so be careful not to waste it."

"Sweet…though it's weird to use weapons after having our powers for so long." Dark said, holstering the sword and loading his weapon, "So, shall we press onward then?"

"But to where though? I mean, this town is a maze and I have no idea where we should go next." Ryan said shaking his head.

"Well, after much deduction, I have a feeling we should head towards this location." Scott said, pointing at the still open map on the table, "It would seem whatever's brought us here might be located here. This church seems to hold some kind of secret."

"A church?" Ryan blinked, "That's something I wouldn't expect in this town."

"Well, shall we then?" Dark said, kicking open the door…and staring face to face with a slightly disturbing fellow.

"Hey, uh, g-guys…" Dark said, shivering, "I think I found a friend of yours…"

--------------------------------

Outlaw Star: Dark's bedroom

"AHHHHHHHH!!" Dark shouted, flying out of bed and smacking into the ceiling.

"Oh dear." Gilliam stated, sliding into Dark's room, "It would seem you're awake."

"Ugh…Gilliam? Oh, God…I really hope we're done dreaming about that place." Dark said, shaking his head clear of the cobwebs.

"Dream? Am I missing something Dark?" Gilliam said, "Anyway, we're about to reach our next destination, so you might want to get cleaned up."

"Right…right. I'll be ready in a bit." Dark said, running a hand through his hair and yawning.

"I see you slept as well as I did." Dark commented, noting Ryan's slightly disheveled look.

"Heh…well, how should I look considering your dream self sorta ran smack into that afro dude." Ryan grinned, "Is Reps ready?"

"I'm here…I'm here." Reps said, drinking from a can of motor oil.

"Um…what's with the oil?" Dark said, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? Well, I am half machine, remember?" Reps said, "Gilliam had a supply of this high-quality stuff and I must say it's awesome. I feel so much better."

"It's nice to see that someone around here appreciates me." Gilliam commented, "Regardless, we have arrived at the destination, so prepare for departure."

"I wonder where we'll land this time." Dark pondered as he and the others were warped to the surface below.

-----------------------

Wooded Plain Region

"This place looks nice." Ryan commented, "Heh…we've got new threads again."

"Peculiar." Dark said, "Given our attire, I'd say we're most likely in the past."

"Any idea when or where to be precise?" Reps questioned, "These things are way too baggy."

"Here, you have to adjust your sash." Ryan sighed, helping Reps rearrange his clothing, "There. Given our getups, I'd be willing to bet this is Japan in the Feudal era…or at least around then anyway."

'Odd.' Dark thought to himself, 'I can sense a lot of auras similar to mine, but what does that mean?'

"Um, you okay there?" Reps said, waving his hand in front of Dark's face, "Snap out of it."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. Just got lost in thought." Dark quickly said, before pointing at something shining nearby, "What do you think that is?"

"I don't know." Ryan said, walking over and picking it up, "It looks like some type of shard…or a crystal or something. Hmmm, it seems to be giving off some kind of energy as well."

"Let me see." Dark said, taking hold of the crystal, "It's not much, but it could prove useful. We better take it with us."

"Okay, that's good and all that the author's decided to set up a plot device, but do you have any clue which way we should go?" Reps asked with a sigh.

"Hmmm." Dark said, concentrating, "I don't know why, but something about this direction seems to be speaking to me."

"So you're psychic now, eh?" Ryan joked, "Well, it seems there's something resembling a path here, so I guess we should listen to you."

Dark merely sighed and just followed behind the others.

"Hmmm…it would seem we have some new guests." Said a menacing figure viewing from the distance, "And they seem very powerful…that could prove…useful."

"Man, these clothes are definitely on my high point list." Ryan sighed, "Honestly, I know we have to blend in, but jeez-o-man, I'm sweating to death…and its night for crying out loud."

"Oh, whine, whine, and whine." Dark mocked, "You don't see me sweating."

"Wait…he's right…he isn't sweating." Reps said, stopping in his tracks, "Even I'm sweating…what's up with you?"

"I don't know…maybe my internal temperature is lower or something?" Dark shrugged, "Huh, I think I see someone coming down the path. Maybe they can point us towards the nearest village or something."

"Or try to ambush us." Ryan half-joked, elbowing Dark.

"Always the negative with you Ryan." Reps sighed and shook his head.

Coming upon the person on the path, Dark politely asked the white-haired man for his attention.

"Excuse me, sir." Dark said, but noted the man looked at him and then continued walking, "Hey now, I wish to ask you something."

Undaunted, the man just continued walking, not caring to stop at the least.

"Oh come on, I just wanted to ask where the nearest village is." Dark huffed, "Jeez, there's no need to be so damn rude about this. What's your problem anyway?"

The man suddenly stopped, turned his head to look at Dark, and stared hard at him.

"Listen well, half-breed. If you wish to continue the pitiful thing you call existing, I suggest you learn to not bother me." Said the man coldly.

""Half-breed?" What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Dark said, walking towards the stranger, "I asked for an explanation."

"You fool. Die." Calmly stated the man, unsheathing a sword and swiping at Dark.

"What the hell?" Dark shouted, pulling out his Keysaber and blocking the attack, "You've got some nerve, you know that?"

"You…blocked it." The man said, somewhat perplexed and surprised to find a blade that could hold up to his, "Hmmm…"

Pulling back his sword and sheathing it, the man took a look at Dark and then his two companions.

"Hmph…" the man scoffed, "There's a village further down this path…take the first right you see."

And with that, the man came as mysteriously as he went.

"Well, that was certainly interesting." Ryan said, scratching his head, "Who the hell was that guy? He never did say what half-breed meant."

"Regardless." Reps pointed out, "We did get him to tell us where the nearest village was, so at least something good is happening."

"Hmmm…maybe." Dark said, somewhat disturbed by this encounter, 'What did he think I was?'

Eventually making their way down the pathway, they came to the bend the man spoke off and made their way down that path.

"You know, why aren't we flying?" Reps asked, "All this walking seems a pain."

"Well, for one, we aren't really sure if people are supposed to be able to fly in this world." Ryan stated, "And two, doesn't that seem really lazy?"

"No." Dark flatly said.

"Not really." Reps added.

Ryan just face-palmed and sighed loudly, shaking his head.

"Hey look, the village!" Dark shouted, pointing in horror, "It's on fire!"

"What?!" Ryan exclaimed, shaking himself out of his daze.

"You don't think that guy did that, do you?" Reps asked, joining Dark as he rushed to the village.

"I don't know. I don't think he would've openly told us the way to the village if he did." Ryan said, finally catching up with them, "We've gotta look for any sign of survivors."

"This fire won't really make it easy though." Reps said, scanning the ruins of the village, "I can't get any accurate heat readings with all this fire."

"It's not like we can make the skies rain or something!" Dark shouted.

Unable to do much, Ryan and the others pulled back and watched as the village burned to the ground.

"This is terrible." Ryan sighed, "We couldn't do anything."

"Should we search for survivors now?" Dark asked, "I mean someone could've still survived."

"I wouldn't bother." Reps sadly commented, "I'm not picking up any heat signatures at all. If anyone didn't get out, well…"

"This is a depressing start." Ryan sighed, "Well, where should we go now?"

"You can start by explaining what happened to this village?" shouted a rather indignant, white-haired man wearing a fire red robe.

"Who the hell are you?" Dark spat, "And where did you all come from anyway? What are you, some sneaky ninjas or something?"

"See what you did now, Inuyasha." Said a girl wearing a short skirt, looking somewhat out of place, "My name's Kagome."

After a round of introductions, the group was soon talking about recent goings-on.

"So you've all been going around, looking for these things?" Dark said, pulling out the shard of the jewel he found.

"Hey, you found a shard." Kagome said excitedly, "We can have it right?"

"We better." Inuyasha said, "I really don't feel like beating you guys up."

"Wow, you're such a charmer." Dark spat out, handing the shard to Kagome, "Here you go, I don't know why we'd keep it when you need it more."

"Thank you very much." Kagome said with a smile, "Well, that's another one…we've almost got all of them."

"The ones that Naraku doesn't have anyway." Miroku said, "He's got many more than we have and that's going to be difficult regardless of how many we might obtain."

"This Naraku fellow, he seems like a real jerk…how'd he come about anyway?" Reps asked, "It's not like he just appeared or something, right?"

"Hmph." Inuyasha said, "I don't really think it's any business of yours. You've helped us by giving that shard to us, but you aren't really needed. Another half-breed, a human, and some weird raccoon dog thing wouldn't help us at all."

"Sit!" Kagome shouted out, causing Inuyasha to facefault to the ground rather rapidly, "I'm sorry about him, but he can be rather temperamental."

"Raccoon dog?" Reps asked, "Does he mean me? I'm a hedgehog darn it!"

"See, there's that word again." Dark said with a sigh, "Why does everyone keep calling me half-breed? That man who called me that seemed to dislike whatever they are."

"You know…he kinda looked a bit like you Inuyasha." Ryan suggested, "You aren't related by chance are you? He had white hair and seemed to be missing an arm."

"Heh, sounds like my half-brother." Inuyasha said, eyeing the three of them, "Maybe I misjudged, if you three ran into him and survived you can't be that weak."

"You know, you still haven't answered my question." Dark sighed, rather tired of being called something he didn't know.

"It means you're half demon Dark." Sango said, "Though, I can't really tell looking at you."

"Me? A half demon?" Dark laughed, "You got the wrong number her hon. I'm a normal human like Ryan here. Well, as normal as we get anyway."

"Are you sure?" Inuyasha said, "Your scent would say otherwise."

"My scent? What are you, some kind of dog?" Dark asked.

"Well, actually he is. He's a dog half-demon." Kagome said, trying to be polite.

"Ugh…this is boring. While we waste time with these dorks, Naraku is probably out there causing all sorts of trouble." Inuyasha said, "Can we at least move while we talk?"

"So I can't help but notice while you three are wearing traditional garbs, you seem to be more in common with Kagome's modern ways." Miroku said.

"Huh? Oh, well, you must just be imaging things." Ryan said with a grin, trying to bluff (+8) his way though this conversation.

"Then what does bring you here then?" Sango asked, "Usually people don't travel far without some type of protection and yet you three are just wondering as if you were on a vacation."

"Well, we're tougher than we look." Dark said, adding to the bluff, "We're actually hunting down some rather fierce demons. Maybe you've seen them before."

"What kind of demons?" Inuyasha questioned, stopping in his tracks.

"Well, there's actually two types." Dark continued, "The first is known as the Heartless. They're typically dark as night with two yellow eyes. They're the byproduct of when a person loses their heart and usually take a form similar to their surroundings."

"Hmmm, sounds close to something we ran into a few nights ago." Kagome said, "I was wondering why we had never seen creatures like that before."

"Yeah, we've only been hunting them for a short while so it's no surprise you wouldn't know about them." Ryan mentioned, "The thing is though, there is another demon created by this loss of heart. These demons are known as Nobodies and usually are of bright white in color and have a bizarre crest emblazoned upon their bodies. They are the shell left behind when a person loses their heart."

"Hmmm, I fear that, though we haven't seen these yet, we may soon enough." Miroku said.

"I think these guys are full of it!" shouted a small voice from inside Kagome's bag.

"The heck?" Reps said, "Your bag can talk!"

"Oh, how silly of me. You can come out Shippo." Kagome said, opening up her bag, "Sorry. He chose to hide when we spotted you and I guess he was too scared to come out."

"I think these guys are playing you for saps." Shippo said, "Look at their feet, they've got the same funny shoes that Kagome has."

"Hey, he's actually right." Inuyasha said, hitting Shippo upside the head, "You could've spoken up earlier you idiot."

"Hey! Even when I try to help you're mean to me." Shippo whined.

"Inuyasha, sit boy!" Kagome shouted, "Hmmm, I think I know the truth then. You're really from my time aren't you? You've just haven't had a way to get around inconspicuously so you dressed in the style and try to bluff through things."

"Yeah, yeah, there you go. We don't really know how we got here, but when we came too we were in this time period." Ryan said, lying through his teeth, "We haven't been here for long, but we figured that if we were going to do something, we might as well do something we were good at."

"I still think they're fudging the truth Kagome." Shippo said, staring hard at the three of them, "I don't trust you."

"Jeez, you're a rather mean raccoon dog." Reps spat out.

"I'm not a raccoon dog, I'm a fox!" Shippo shouted, charging at Reps and hitting his shins.

"Ack!" Reps shrieked, shaking his leg, "Get it off! Get it off me!"

"Shippo, calm down." Miroku said, "This is why we never get along with anyone new."

"Oh really? I thought it was because you hit on all of them." Inuyasha said with a smirk, but stopped when Sango gave him the evil glare.

"Well, regardless, we do sense strong aura's from you, so at least the fighting demon part would check out." Sango said, "I don't see why you can't tag along with us."

"Ah, that would be splendid." Dark said, zipping over and taking Sango's hand, "It's nice to be in such lovely company."

"There he goes again." Ryan said with a sigh.

---------------------

Ruins of Dance Pad Isle

"I really don't feel good about being back here." Charmy said, "Not a lot of fond memories as you two recall."

"Yeah, you are right. This place really went to hell after it was abandoned." Sonic commented, "It's even worse than when we came here for Ryan's first duel with the new system Kanbei came up with."

"We need to be careful then; a lot of the structures look unstable." Shadow said, slowly making her way through the giant doors of the once Konamison's castle, "We should probably look for Konamison's private chamber, I'd be willing to bet his transportation device is there."

"Knowing him, that's probably at the top of the castle." Charmy spat out, "He was rather full of himself after all."

Making their way through stairs and broken down passageways, they eventually came to what appeared to be Konamison's room.

"Man, father time sure took a back seat to this place." Sonic commented, knocking over a table, which promptly turned to dust after it fell, "Oooookay."

"Guys, I think I found it." Charmy shouted, "This thing looks like it opens some type of portal."

"I don't suppose you know how this thing works, do you hon?" Sonic asked Shadow.

"Not really, almost all this stuff happened after I got away from G.U.N. so I'm in the dark." Shadow said dejectedly, "So let's push things till it works!"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Came a mysterious voice, "You never know what might be hiding in the dark pathways of the universe."

"Who said that?" Charmy demanded.

"Easy. I'm a friend." Said a red-haired man, dressed in a black cloak as he materialized, "You're looking for Ryan, right?"

"What or rather, how do you know Ryan?" Charmy asked, "I'm pretty sure you aren't a friend of his."

"Of course I am. He and I go way back." Said the man in black, "I'm Axel and if you want to find your friend, you should come with me."

Suddenly, a group of Nobodies appeared and surrounded the three of them.

"Hmph, somehow I don't think a friend of Ryan's would do something like this." Sonic said sarcastically, "I don't buy it."

"Look, it's come with me or you don't see Ryan." Axel said, "Make the smart choice here."

Just as it seemed the group didn't have anywhere to go, the machine kicked to life and a mysterious whistle was heard.

"I know that whistle!" Charmy shouted, "Let's go guys!"

"Wait!" Axel shouted as the three of them jumped into the portal, "Great…this isn't going at all as I planned. Why does it have to be so hard?"

"Do you know where this thing is going?" Sonic asked as the three of them tumbled through the darkness.

"No clue, but I bet we'll find Ryan there." Charmy said, "We're coming hon."

-------------------

Feudal Japan

"You weren't exactly kidding about these things!" Inuyasha shouted, unleashing an attack on a Heartless, "Where do they keep coming from?"

"Well, as long as there is evil in the hearts of people, they keep coming." Dark shouted, unleashing his own attack and taking down another two, "Usually they come in waves and then leave be for awhile."

"I don't understand how they keep finding us." Kagome said, shooting more arrows, "It's like there's a homing signal or something."

"That's sorta our fault." Ryan said, holding off a giant Heartless, "They can sense our weapons because they know that it's the only thing that can stop them in their conquest."

"How can you guys deal with that kind of burden?" Miroku asked, sucking an entire group of them up with his Wind Tunnel.

"Eh, we get used to it." Reps said half-heartedly, slicing the last of them up, "By the way, how's Sango after she took that hit?"

"She looks like she'll be okay." Shippo said, "The medicine Kagome had really helped out."

"That's good." Ryan said, sheathing his Keysaber, "This is really weird though, usually there aren't this many Heartless. That Naraku person must be incredibly evil to draw forth this many Heartless."

"You don't know the half of it." Inuyasha added, "Anyway, I don't think we can get much more done today."

"Oh, gosh, you're right." Kagome suddenly shouted out, "I forgot I have to go back for a test tomorrow."

"A test? You're in school?" Dark asked Kagome, "Though, I suppose the clothing should've given that away."

"Hey, you guys should come with me." Kagome offered, "That way you can at least get some regular clothing and freshen up a bit. I'm sure you miss the modern era."

"Well, it has been a while." Reps said, "I don't see why not."  
"I'm confused, if you're a hedgehog creature, you look strangely humanized." Shippo commented, "Why is that?"

"Well, it's a really long, tedious story that I don't think we have time for." Reps said, sighing, "But a hot bath would be awesome right now."

"Well, follow me then. The Bone Eater's Well isn't too far from here." Kagome said, leading the way.

'Something is fishy here.' Inuyasha thought to himself, 'Maybe Shippo _is_ right…'

--------------------------

The Modern Era

"Jeez, that was some trip." Ryan said, shaking his head clear, "So, we're in your world now, eh?"

""My world"?" Kagome asked, looking at him weird as they climbed out of the well, "Don't you mean 'our world'?"

"Oh, right." Ryan quickly said, "Sorry, guess the trip was a little much on me."

"Well, I'm sure you'll want to get home to where you belong." Kagome said, "I've got lots of studying to do, but hey, keep in touch. It's nice to have someone I can relate to now."

"Well, to be honest, our world isn't exactly here." Dark said, "So, uh, I don't suppose you could put us up somewhere…please?"

"I knew something was going on." Kagome sighed, "How could you hunt demons but not know what half-breed meant?"

"Yeah, sorry about the deception." Reps said, rubbing the back of his head, "We just didn't know how you'd take it if you knew we weren't from around these parts."

"Well, I don't blame you." Kagome said with a smile, "I'm sure we can work something out…don't know how to explain this to mom though."

The Next Day…

"Oh man, it feels so good to take a hot bath." Reps said with a grin on his face, "I always feel so grimy when we adventure."

"Well, I suppose you have a point." Dark added, "I'm just glad Kagome's family was kind enough to put us up for the time being."

"Speaking of which, I don't think Kagome got any sleep." Ryan said, drying off, "When I saw her leave this morning she looked like she was dead."

"She did say this test was a big one…I hope she did well on it." Reps commented, "You don't think we made things harder, did we?"

"I don't think so." Dark answered, "I'm sure she just studied way too much."

After cleaning off and such, the three of them figured they'd kill time by wondering around the city.

"I wonder where her school is anyway, she probably gets out soon so we could surprise her by being there." Dark suggested, "But then again she'd probably just get embarrassed…I'm sure her friends would be curious who the sexy friend of hers is."

"Yes, I'm sure that's it." Ryan replied, rolling his eyes, "I'm hungry…do we even have any money on us?"

"Well, I have a credit card." Reps said, pulling out a thin plastic card, "It's apparently supposed to work anywhere, so I guess we can try it."

"An intergalactic credit card huh?" Ryan asked, "That's a handy thing there. Well, where do you want to eat then?"

"Let's just get something quick." Dark said, pointing across the street, "There, that place looks like it'll do."

"Huh, this place sorta looks like this world's take on McDonalds." Ryan commented, turning to see Dark staring at something, "What's the matter Dark?"

"…The Hamburglar is here to get me!" Dark shouted, pointing at a statue before flipping out and laying into it with his Keysaber, "No, you won't have my soul you evil burger stealing bastard!"

"What's gotten into him?" Reps asked, freaked out.

"Oh, it has to do with something from long ago." Ryan sighed, "You know how little kids think there are monsters in the closet and, well, we thought there was a demonic Hamburglar in our closet."

"That's…really sad." Reps said, sweatdropping, "Well, um…should we stop him?"

"Yeah…come on Dark, he won't hurt you now." Ryan said, grabbing a hold of him and holding him still.

"He…he…so evil." Dark said, "I have saved the day."

"Yeah, sure you have." Reps said, "Perhaps we should leave, as one: the manager over there doesn't look pleased, and two: I think I hear the cops coming."

"Yikes! Vamoose!" Dark shouted, tearing free from Ryan's grip and running off.

"Hey! Come back here!" Reps and Ryan shouted, chasing after him.

Meanwhile, in one of the booths, Kagome and her friends merely watched this little display in confusion.

"Wow, that's something you don't usually see. I wonder what was up with that guy. Maybe he doesn't like fast-food." Said Kagome's friend.

"Yeah…that must be it." Kagome said, quickly taking a sip of her milkshake.

'Why do I always meet the crazy ones?' Kagome thought, shaking her head.

"Ah, there she is." Ryan said, seeing Kagome walking up the stairs, "How'd the test go?"

"I think I did well, but I need to relax. After I pack my bag, we're heading back to the Feudal Era." Kagome said, "How come you're still in the clothes you had on before?"

"Well, we figure it best not to tell the others." Dark commented, "They seem okay with us being what we said and well, Inuyasha already doesn't seem to believe us."

"Good point, okay then. I'll get ready as fast as I can." Kagome said, running inside her house.

---------------------

Feudal Era: Well

"Ugh…I don't see how you can take doing that." Ryan said, shaking his head clear of the cobwebs.

"How can this well transport us anyway?" Dark asked, "It doesn't seem all that special."

"Well, the Sacred Jewel allows the doorway to open up." Kagome said, "Can you help me with my bike?"

"Sure thing." Reps said, helping her pull it up, "Where are they anyway? I thought you said they'd be waiting for you."

"Hmm…they must be in the village. It's just this way." Kagome said, hopping on her bike, "Try to keep up."

"Heh…that won't be a problem." Ryan chuckled as the three of them ran after Kagome…till the bike got knocked off the path, "The hell?"

"Ahhh…I sense Sacred Jewel shards." Said a centipede looking creature, "You…you're that girl. Ah…but your dumb mutt is nowhere to help."

"Kagome!" Ryan shouted, knocking the creature back and keeping her at bay, "Are you okay?"

"Ugh…I think so." Kagome moaned, standing up slowly, "Wait a minute…what hit me?"

"She did." Dark motioned, catching up with them and striking a stance, "Who's this weak fool anyway?"

"That's Mistress Centipede…but how is she back?" Kagome said, "There's something different about her."

"Hmm…I think you're right. Something doesn't seem right here." Ryan murmured, sensing her energy, "This has the Organization written all over it."

"Enough with this nonsense, I want those shards!" Mistress Centipede shouted, charging at Ryan and Dark, "You stupid humans won't be able to stop me!"

"Peh…you aren't worth the effort." Ryan spat out, slicing her right down the middle, "Maybe you'll stay dead this time."

"Arrrgh!" shouted the remains of Mistress Centipede before fading away, "Those liars…"

After cleaning up, Reps caught up with the three of them.

"Where'd you disappear to Reps?" Dark asked, "We weren't exactly playing with that thing."

"After I heard what you said, I scanned the area and detected a signature identical to that of the Organizations." Reps said, "It disappeared as soon as I got a lock on it, but we can be sure they know we're here and they're up to something."

"We better find the others quickly then!" Kagome shouted, pedaling as fast as she could.

-------------------

Naraku's Castle

"Hmmm…so I see then." Naraku said, taking in the information, "So it would seem those three are different as I figured."

"It's as I told you dude." Boldo commented, fidgeting a tad nervously, "So, will you accept the offer previously mentioned?"

"Hmmm…so you want me to help take care of these three? These Keymasters and their raccoon dog friend?" Naraku said, flexing his hand.

"Well, hedgehog, but yes. That is the jist of my master's offer." Boldo nodded, "In return, he's willing to grant you a rather large source of power to absorb. He is quite aware of the trouble you've had with the heroes of this world."

"Heh, it would seem your master thinks lightly of me." Naraku frowned, "I don't care for those who think I'm incapable of handling my own matters."

"You mistake my master." Boldo nervously said, worried that things were going to go sour, "He only wishes to offer his aid for ends that are mutually beneficial for all involved."

"Hmmm…very well." Naraku said, standing up, "Show me this…being that is worth absorbing."

"You heard the man, show yourself!" Boldo shouted, snapping his fingers as a huge black mass appeared in the castle, "Well…are you impressed?"

"I must say, your master must be uncanny to acquire a demon of this strength. I sense a large sum of hate inside it." Naraku laughed evilly, "It will be a good addition to my arsenal."

------------------

Village

"So you think this Organization is up to something?" Inuyasha asked, "How do they fit into to what you've told us?"

"Apparently they have the ability to control the Nobodies…being Nobodies themselves that maintain a human form after changing." Reps explained, "I've heard rumors they can control the Heartless too, but so far we haven't seen such."

"What do they want though?" Miroku queried, "They have to have some type of goal after all."

"We're not sure…but they seem to be trying to regain what they've lost." Ryan answered, "How though, even we haven't figured out."

"Okay, enough pleasantries." Inuyasha sighed, standing up, "We don't have time to waste. For all we know Naraku may have gotten the last shard…and then we're in trouble."

"You're way too impatient bud." Ryan grinned, "What are the odds of that happening?"

Just then a large explosion rocked forth from the north, knocking everyone over.

"Well shit." Ryan sighed as the group headed outside, "Guess that's what I get for opening my mouth."

"That's got Naraku written all over it." Sango said, readying her weapon, "Well, we better get going…he probably figures we're on our way."

"I really hope you guys weren't full of it when you were talking, because I really think we're going to need all the power we can get." Inuyasha commented.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry." Dark grinned, "We're stronger than we look."

"Peh…you guys are probably why this is happening." Shippo yelled, "Bringing your trouble with you."

"This isn't the time for this Shippo." Kagome replied, "We need to focus and stop Naraku!"

-------------------

Naraku's Castle Gates

"Well, looks like this is the place." Ryan said, as the group assembled, "I don't suppose anyone has a plan, do they?"

"I might." Said the mysterious man, "You humans and half-breeds get out of my way while I take out Naraku myself."

"You cocky bastard!" Inuyasha shouted, "I figured you'd find your way here Sesshoumaru."

"Hmm…it would seem you've met up with that half-breed." Sesshoumaru calmly stated, "Maybe after this is over I can find out whether that block was luck or not."

"I'm not a half-breed dammit!" Dark shouted, "But I wouldn't mind a chance to wipe that smirk off your face pretty boy!"

"Guys! This isn't the time for this!" Ryan shouted, "Besides, I think all our bickering has attracted his attention."

"Ah, Inuyasha. Now that the only shards left are yours, nothing can stand in my way." Naraku said, emerging from the castle, "It would seem my associate wasn't lying, as even your new friends won't be able to stand up to what I've become now."

"Does he look…different?" Sango asked, "He's darker…and what's that symbol?"

"That's the symbol Ansemian gave to all her Heartless creations…someone must've given him a very powerful one based on the size of it." Reps said, "He's one of them now it would seem."

"How astute for a hedgehog." Naraku snidely commented, "This power though…it's different than any other demonic aura I've come into contact with. So much more…adaptable!"

With that, Naraku lashed out with several tendrils, two of which were blocked by Ryan and Inuyasha and the others barely missing the group.

Huge chunks of the surrounding land were sent flying at the destructive force of the attack, giving a clear indication of how powerful he was now.

"I'm open to suggestions!" Dark shouted, tossing his Keysaber at Naraku only to have it knocked back, "Damn! He's got some type of shield."

"That's his barrier!" Inuyasha shouted, fending off some smaller Heartless Naraku had called, "I know how we can get through it."

Holding out his sword, Inuyasha transformed it and smirked.

"Take this you bastard! Adamant Barrage!" Inuyasha shouted, swinging his sword at Naraku.

Naraku smirked and took the blow head on, surviving it.

"The hell?" Inuyasha questioned, "That's supposed to work."

"Weakling." Sesshoumaru said, slashing away all the Heartless around him.

"Like you could break that barrier." Inuyasha spat out at him, dodging Naraku's tendrils.

"You fools are helpless." Naraku cackled, "I'll enjoy absorbing you all."

"Ahhhhh!" shouted Sango and Kagome as they were wrapped up in Naraku's grip.

"Kagome!" Shouted Inuyasha, before getting snagged himself, "Dammit Naraku!!"

"Sango!" Miroku shouted, "These stupid creatures! Wind Tunnel!"

"Playing right into my hand as usual monk!" Naraku laughed, unleashing his poisonous insects.

"Damn!" Miroku shouted, gripping his hand as he felt the poison coursing through his body, "Ugh…"

"Well, that's another one down." Ryan commented, "He's going to get all of us before the end if we don't get that barrier down."

"I'd suggest we combine our attacks…even if I know Sesshoumaru wouldn't exactly go for it…but we can't risk hurting our friends." Dark growled, "Ugh, if only there was something we could do!"

"There's only one thing we can do." Reps said, powering down his weapons, "We have to make a deal."

"You don't mean…" Ryan started, but stopped when Reps nodded, "If we must…we must."

"I don't like this dammit…not one bit." Dark shook his head before putting away his weapon.

"Fools." Sesshoumaru growled.

"We can't fight if he has our friends." Ryan said glumly, "So we're making a trade."

"Hmmm…and what exactly is this?" Naraku asked, seeing the three of them put away their weapons, "Have you given up?"

"No…but we want to trade." Ryan demanded, "You get us if you let our friends go!"

"You idiots! What good will that do?" Inuyasha shouted, "You need to keep fighting."

"We can't risk hurting you guys." Dark replied, squeezing his fist, "What choice do we have?"

"Hmmm…this is most amusing." Naraku shouted, "Hmmm…the powerful aura's of a human and two demons in exchange for my most hated nemesis and his pathetic friends? No…I don't think so. I want all of you so, no deal!"

"Heh…should've known you'd do that!" Ryan shouted, "No choice then, let's do it Dark!"

'Now what?' Sesshoumaru thought, watching as the two of them were engulfed by a blinding flash, 'Did they vanish?'

"We're right here." Kouki shouted, twirling his Keysabers, "I hope this works though!"

Dashing towards Naraku, Kouki twirled and dodged the remaining tendrils managing to slash those holding their friends.

"Oof!" Kagome grunted as she hit the ground, "You could've done that a little softer."

"Hey, I've got my hands full. I'm surprised this is working." Kouki shouted, dashing right at Naraku, "Let's see if your barrier can stand up to this: Final Fusion Rush!!"

"You idiots! That's suicide!" Reps shouted, "You can't survive that attack!"

"Don't worry!" Kouki shouted as he built up his energy, "We've been practicing!"

"You…what are you doing to me?!" Naraku shouted, feeling their power grow, "Let go!"

"Sorry Naraku, but its boom time!" Kouki grinned as he exploded his power.

"Arrrrgh!" Naraku shouted, feeling the energy wave tear away at his barrier, "You haven't won yet you fools!"

Using the last of his power, Naraku reached around and wrapped his tendrils around Kouki, absorbing their energy and attempting to absorb them.

--------------------

Unknown Location

"Oh my head." Dark lamented, clutching it tightly, "God, I can barely move. Did we die? What is this place?"

Looking around, about as much as he could anyway, all Dark could see was a white light permeating the area.

"I don't see Ryan anywhere…Ryan?" Dark called, hoping for an answer…but receiving none.

"Ugh…my eyes." Dark said, unable to keep them open, "I feel…funny."

Dark became quiet as he detected the presence of someone or something that had just appeared.

"Who's there?" Dark said, unable to keep his eyes open, "What do you want?"

"My, how you've grown Dark." Said a female voice, "You've gotten quite handsome, just like your father."

"My…father? Who are you? Are you…" Dark asked, before feeling very weak.

"You do look…different though. Do you not remember who you really are?" asked the female voice, taking Dark in her arms, "You silly boy. So forgetful…"

"I feel…an image. Is it…?" Dark asked, feeling a hand combing through his hair, "What's happening? My friends…Ryan."

"Ah yes…Ryan. I'm sure he's just as handsome." The female voice chuckled, "Your friends need you now. You have to remember who you are."

"Who I am? I'm Darkness Shade…but how will that help?" Dark questioned.

"That is your name…but who are you? You know in your heart what you really are…you must let that out in order to save them." The female voice said, this time further away.  
"Wait…come back…who are you?" Dark said, getting only silence in response, "Who I am? Darkness Shade…I am…I am…!"

Dark clutched his chest tightly, feeling his soul and heart pulsating faster and faster before…

-----------------------

Castles Ruins

"What a foolish waste." Naraku shouted, "My barrier may be damaged now, but those two will soon be a part of me. Then you will stand no chance before my power."

"Dammit!" Reps shouted, pounding the ground, "I told those idiots it wouldn't work."

"Hey, is it just me or does…Naraku look kinda funny?" Shippo said, finally coming out of hiding.

"I think you're right Shippo." Inuyasha grinned, "Guess those two aren't exactly agreeing with him."

"What is this? How can this be?" Naraku shouted, falling to the ground, "This power…I can't…contain it!"

Suddenly, a huge explosion occurred as parts of Naraku flew everywhere.

Lying in the middle of the explosion was the unconscious body of Ryan and…someone that looked like Dark kneeling next to him.  
"They survived?" Reps asked in shock.

'They are tough.' Sesshoumaru thought, 'I really need to test that half-breed now.'

Unfurling his long, jet-black wings, Dark slowly stood up from his kneeling position and stretched out his arms.

"I like this body." Dark commented, flexing his clawed fingers and running his hands over his ears, "Much more adept now."

"Who are you?!" Naraku demanded, disoriented at how everything was backfiring in his face.

"From out of the shadows…comes a force, of unstoppable ecchiness." Dark whispered, materializing his jacket and pulling out a new pair of shades to put on, "I am…Darkness Shade!"

"This is inconceivable! Where did you get this power?" Naraku shouted, now lost in his own fear at what had happened.

"Hell if I know, though I guess everyone's right." Dark grinned, "I owe them a coke I suppose."

"What does that mean?" Inuyasha asked puzzled, "Kagome?"

"Uh…I'll get back to you on that one." Kagome replied sweatdropping.

"Reps get Ryan and fall back. He's all mine now." Dark commanded, pulling out two Keysabers, "He's going to pay!"

"Right!" Reps shouted, dashing over and moving Ryan out of the way, "Give him hell!"

"You bet I will!" Dark said, before squirming, "Hold on a second."

Taking his newly clawed hand, Dark tore a hole in the back of his pants and pulled his tail free.

"That's better…" Dark sighed, "Guess that means I need to alter my entire wardrobe then. Anyways…where were we? Oh yeah, I was going to kick your ass."

"You wish." Naraku said, reforming himself, "I don't know what makes you think you can take me, but I won't lose so easily."

"I've grown tired of this." Dark said, charging up his Keysabers and spinning them in a wheel pattern, "This ends now: Rolling Hell Wheels!!"

"What?!" Naraku said, as Dark's twin Keysabers screamed towards him, enhanced by his newfound demonic aura, "I can't lose to you!"

"Sorry, but you just did." Dark stated, catching his Keysabers after they plowed through Naraku and then driving them through them, "You won't trouble anyone anymore."

Naraku now reduced to a pile of floating flesh and other such things, silently glared at Dark.

"You know…this is the part where you die." Dark said, poking his head with a Keysaber, "Hey, why won't he die guys?"

"Maybe you aren't strong enough after all half-breed." Sesshoumaru said, breaking the silence.

"Heh…you can't beat me." Naraku coughed, trying to reform, "You don't have the power to stop me."

"Maybe…but we won't let you win after all this." Dark shouted, charging up for another attack.

Coming too, Ryan saw that Dark wasn't Dark or was he and that Naraku could definitely use an Elixir or two.

"Wait…I know what he's up to! Quick, everyone attack with all you've got!" Ryan shouted, trying to get up but falling down, "Dammit…"

"If it has to be done, I guess I can lend him my power." Inuyasha shouted, pulling out his Tetsusaiga and unleashing his attack, "Backlash Wave!"

"Gotta hit the mark!" Kagome shouted, unleashing a sacred arrow behind the Backlash Wave.

"Let's finish this!" Reps shouted, charging up and releasing a huge energy blast, "Maximum Overload!"

"Additional God-modding attack!" Ryan shouted, unleashing his own energy attack.

"Peh…" Sesshoumaru scoffed, drawing back and swinging his sword, "Dragon Strike."

"Heh, guess your time's up Naraku." Dark shouted, "Ultimate Rolling Hell Wheels: Six Strikes of Oblivion!"

The combined force of all their attacks, besides destroying the countryside, two mountains, and half a forest, also managed to effectively kill Naraku.

"Guess that's it." Dark noted, seeing nothing left of Naraku, "We won."

"Hooray for our side." Ryan said, passing out again.

Sighing, Dark grabbed Ryan's unconscious body and headed away with the others, unbeknownst a cloaked figure was watching the battle.

"Heh…so they won." Said the figure, materializing and drawing forth what appeared to be a heart, "Regardless, this will do well to further our plans. As long as those fools keep playing the hero, they unknowingly help us draw closer and closer to our ultimate salvation. He always was a fool…"

After these cryptic words, the being vanished whence he came, leaving the battlefield quiet and empty.

---------------

Countryside

"So…you guys have to go, huh?" Kagome asked.

"Yeah…we've got to get back after the Heartless and the Organization." Ryan said, "Hopefully things won't be too hectic for you now that Naraku's gone."

"Heh…can't believe it finally happened." Inuyasha said, "Hey…wait…what about the Sacred Jewel?"

"Oh, here." Dark said, pulling it out of his jacket and handing it to him, "Grabbed this when I plunged into his body. Forgot all about it in the explosion."

"So…what are you going to do with it?" Reps asked, "After how much trouble it brought…I'd get rid of it."

"Well…you know what." Kagome said, taking it and giving it back to Dark, "Take it with you guys. If it's not on this planet, then I know it won't fall into the wrong hands."

"What?! You're just going to give it to him?!" Inuyasha shouted, "How do we know he can be trusted with it? And why would we anyway!?"

"It would just cause more trouble here, especially now that it's whole…so it needs to be taken somewhere where it can't be found." Kagome explained, "I'm sure these three will take care of it."

"Don't worry." Ryan assured, "We won't let it be misused."

Suddenly, the Jewel shined brightly and floated up into the air.

"Ah…I know what that means." Dark said, pulling out his Keysaber and shooting a beam at the Jewel, "Wonder where we'll end up at next."

Twirling around his Keysaber, Dark struck a pose at gaining a new Keysaber, '4 Souls'.

"Just be careful…the jewel is influenced by the thoughts the person holding it has as well as their actions." Kagome warned, "We don't want it corrupting you."

"I'm pretty confident I can handle it, so don't fret." Dark said, putting away his Keysaber, "Oh and Inuyasha."

"Yeah…?" Inuyasha asked, looking at him funny.

"Shippo was right about us." Dark grinned as the three of them were teleported off the surface.

-------------------

Outlaw Star

"Was that really necessary?" Ryan sighed, "Great…just when I thought we'd finally leave a place without exposing ourselves."

"I couldn't help it." Dark explained, "It's like some…new cockiness just appeared at that moment and told me to do that."

"Oh my, did you three have yet another adventure down there?" Gilliam asked, "It wasn't like last time, was it?"

"No, no giant catgirls this time. Just some demons." Reps said with a wave, "A new path opened up, so we'll head that way. I'm taking a nap…"

"Hmmm…I wonder how you're a half-demon though." Ryan pondered, sitting on the couch, "As far as we know, our real father was a Jedi…wasn't he?"

"I think that's right." Dark replied, sitting next to him, "But then…when I was unconscious. There was a presence. She was female and she seemed to have this…feeling about her, as if something was flowing through her."

"You aren't going to go all Force on me, are you?" Ryan asked with a laugh, "I mean…our mother a Jedi? So what, then you're going to tell me our father was a demon or something that she fell in love with?"

"Could be…she did reference my looks in relation to his, yours as well if I recall correctly." Dark answered, "Though…if that is true…then, how was it I became a part of you?"

"Some things aren't known about us Dark." Ryan said, standing up, "I don't understand it all myself, but I'm sure it'll reveal itself one day."

"Especially if the author has anything to say about it." Dark quipped, grinning at his jab.

"You know, he's not going to enjoy that if you keep doing it." Ryan sighed, "He's essentially us after all."

"I know, but self-depreciating humor is funny in small doses." Dark laughed, shaking his head, "Regardless, I hope the next world isn't too bad…I've got a feeling things are going to blow up soon."

A few hours later, the crew (after bashing the author once again) was in a deep sleep as Gilliam piloted towards the next world.

Reps, as usual, was in his stasis pod, his low-level systems online, giving him a vaguely creepy Metal Sonic-esque look.

Ryan was half off his bed, mumbling something about Charmy and chocolate sauce, before rolling off the bed.

Dark, though, was awake, staring at his reflection in the mirror.

"What am I?" Dark questioned, "A fox-like tail? Jet-black wings? Clawed hands? This is all too much."

"Dark, you really should be getting your sleep." Gilliam's little pink self said, noting Dark was awake.

"I know Gilliam, it's just…what am I?" Dark repeated, "I mean…look at me. I know you're an AI program, but what do you think?"

"I think that from what I've seen, you, much like the previous crew, are heroes…though in a different way than them." Gilliam replied, "Regardless of your looks, which given are an interesting mix, I feel that serving with you is and will continue to be a pleasure…regardless of what I may say."

"Heh, you're pretty good at that stuff aren't you?" Dark laughed, "The leader of your old crew must've been a dozy for you to adapt like that."

"In this line of work I've come to expect almost anything…especially from the likes of you." Gilliam said.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Dark sighed, "I think we're affecting you a little too much. Anyways, I'll get to bed. Just take care of the ship."

"You humans are such complex organisms." Gilliam sighed, leaving Dark's room.

'I wonder…if that image from the beginning…was that foreshadowing my change.' Dark said, lying down, 'And if so…what else was it predicting? And why?'

With this Dark fell asleep, but instead of dreaming of the nightmarish hellhole he had come to know, he had a vision of two people…a man and a woman.

--------------

Elsewhere in the Universe…

"Are you sure what you've uncovered is correct?" Squall asked a cloaked figure.

"Yes, I'm quite sure." Said the figure, "This energy signature is not of natural origin and it's growing. I fear that soon it may cause an unthinkable act to occur."

"But what caused this? And why is it growing?" Squall questioned, "I don't understand how we can't do anything to stop it."

"It continues because it is willed to." The figure cryptically responded, "I can not answer this question unfortunately."

"Can anyone stop it then?" Squall asked.

"Not really…this will happen regardless of what we do." The figure answered, "Regardless though, we must prepare for how to stop it."

"Stop what?" Squall questioned, "What aren't you telling me? Why are you afraid of letting me know?"

"Afraid, I am not." The figure responded, pulling down his hood, "You will know soon enough, and so will the others. In fact, I have a feeling they'll know about it before we do. Make sure the others are ready, because when the energy builds to its breaking point, all we can do is be prepared."

"Okay Yoshino, I'll tell Aerith and the others to prepare our defenses." Squall said, "What about the other signal? The one that's similar to his?"

"I'm sure Cloud will deal with him easily enough." Yoshino stated, staring at the mass of Heartless and Nobodies that had built up in the time Ryan and the others had been gone, "We have enough problems of our own as it is…those guys better show up soon."


	5. Ryan and Dark's XCellent Adventure

**DDR HEARTS 2: **

**Ryan and Dark's X-Cellent Adventure**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

---------------------

Outlaw Star

"If you would be kind enough to wake up, we have reached the destination." Gilliam announced, "That means you Dark."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Dark said, poking his head into the cockpit, "Ryan put you up to that didn't he?"

"I'm afraid I have no idea of what you're communicating, the others are waiting for you." Gilliam said, dodging the subject, "Ryan seemed a tad excited when he found out where you were going next for some reason."

"Hmmm, must be somewhere we've visited before." Dark said, "Okay Gilliam, keep the ship in shape."

"Terrans." Gilliam sighed, "So complicated."

----------------------

Scarred wasteland

"Dammit X this isn't going as planned!" Zero shouted, holding off a barrage with his saber, "We weren't supposed to be ambushed!"

"I don't know what happened!" X said, firing off some shots at Sigma's cronies, "Damn, where's our backup?"

"Backup? Oh, you mean Axl?" Zero questioned, "With that teleportation jammer they put up, he's got to reach us the old fashioned way…and that's quite a hike."

"Well, then we've just got to hold out till then." X said, charging up and firing a large ball of plasma into them, "Where are all of them coming from though?"

"Heh, so we meet again X." declared a purple winged reploid.

"Storm Eagle?! But you've been dead for years!" X shouted.

"Apparently Sigma felt it necessary to bring me back." Storm Eagle said, "I don't know why he brought us back or how, but…things won't be the same as last time."

"Those filthy mavericks!" Axl shouted, blasting through another wave, "I'll never reach the guys in time. If only that stupid teleportation shield wasn't there."

As if on cue, three beams of light warped down near to where X and Zero were struggling.

"What the hell? I thought the teleporting jammer field was up." Axl said, checking his sensor, "It still is, but then who was that?"

"Looks like we made it, but something isn't right." Ryan said, "Maybe this field scarred by plasma and drenched in reploid fluids is a good indication, but call it a gut feeling."

"Ugh, all these smells are so much worse than I remember." Dark recoiled, "It's going to take some time to get used to this new body."

"Guys, I'm afraid our discussion has drawn the attention of some unruly characters." Reps said, "Probably about 10 at the most."

"That's it?" Ryan sighed, "Talk about boring."

"I'm sorry little human, did you say that was boring?" questioned one of the reploids that had surrounded our heroes.

"What if I did? You guys are what, Sigma's little henchmen? Peh, you wouldn't last five seconds against the three of us." Ryan laughed.

"What?!" the now disgruntled reploid shouted, "Get them!!"

"Ugh." X grunted, clutching where his arm once was, "I don't understand Storm Eagle…you never seemed like you would follow Sigma. Why follow him again?"

"I have my reasons…" Storm said, "You have other things to worry about though."

"Huh? Is that what I think it was?" Zero asked, having been whittled down to a torso with arms, "I though they couldn't teleport."

"Hmm, it would seem someone found a way around it." Storm said, "No matter, the others will take care of them."

"So I guess we're done for." X sighed, "Why do reploids have to keep fighting each other?"

"I can't answer your question X." Storm said, raising his gun and pointing it at X, "Farewell my friend."

"I don't think so!" shouted a voice, unleashing a large blast of energy.

"Ack!" Storm screeched, recoiling in pain, "How the hell?"

"You're down for the count birdie." Shouted another voice, flying in and slashing him in half, "Jeez, we go away for a measly year and you guys get all soft on us."

"I know that voice." Zero said, fading in and out of consciousness, "Ryan?"

"Heh, you know it." Ryan grinned, "Sorry we're late; we ran into some "friends" that needed a lesson taught to them."

"You look like hell." Dark chuckled, pointing at Zero, "What are you going to do, bleed on me?"

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Zero said, hobbling over to Dark, "I know you, don't I? You're that other entity of Ryan's."

"It would seem a lot has happened in a year." X grunted, slowly standing up, "Well, I think they're falling back, now that you've toasted Storm Eagle. I'll tell Axl to teleport back to Maverick Hunter HQ and meet us there."

"Sounds goods to me." Ryan agreed, "Wait, where did Reps go?"

"There he is." Dark said, pointing towards him in the distance, "Something seems wrong though…"

Just as Reps cleared the nearby hill, a huge battalion of reploids could be seen following him.

The part that worried the group was they all looked like Sigma.

"Shit." Ryan said, "Um…I think a tactical maneuver is called for here."

"You mean a retreat?" X questioned.

"Yeah, so um, let's beam out of here." Ryan answered.

-------------------------

Maverick Hunter HQ

"What the hell was all that?" Ryan questioned, "Why did all those reploids look like Sigma?"

"I think I can answer that." Said a blonde-haired reploid, wearing a headset, "It would seem that those reploids you saw were a new breed of transforming reploids. They are apparently incapable of going Maverick."

"Oh ho, and who might you be cutie?" Dark grinned, taking her hand and kissing it, "I don't recall seeing you last time."

"This is Alia, she's part of our spotter team." X sighed, rolling his eyes, "Her, Pallette, and Layer help us out while we're in the field."

"Well, I hope you'll help me too." Dark said, releasing her hand and winking at her.

"Okay Casanova, lay off the girl." Ryan sighed, smacking Dark upside the head, "So, now you guys can transform."

"Only specific types like me can." Axl commented, "I was a prototype and apparently things went well, so they scaled up production."

"Thanks rookie." Reps said, "At least I know now that it wasn't the real Sigma…not sure I could handle him."

"Rookie?!" Axl shouted, annoyed at this upstart reploid, "And where do you get off saying that?"

"Well, you do seem to be the newest of the group." Ryan replied, "Plus you still have some temper issues, so you are a rookie."

"I bet I could run circles around you human." Axl spat out, "I may have been told about you by X and Zero, but you sure don't seem like what they told me."

"Suit yourself." Zero butted in, entering the room, "We've got trouble."

"The trouble seems to be originating in Noah's Park." Layer stated, bringing up the view screen, "Seems one of the large mechaniloids has started causing chaos. I'm also detecting a strange reading, most likely a maverick of some type, and a third distortion…I have no idea what this reading is though."

"Heh, never quiet for long with you guys, eh Rookie?" Ryan asked, ribbing Axl.

Axl simply growled and sighed at this, shaking his head.

"Okay, we've got to move out, so team up. Dark, you're with me." X commanded, heading to the teleportation room, "Ryan, go with Zero and Axl…you're with Reps. Try not to lose your cool."

"No promises X." Axl growled, rather perturbed at his partner choice.

-------------------------

Noah's Park

"Seems like a nice place." Ryan said, talking into his communicator, "Where's that signal at Layer?"

"It's up ahead, slowly moving towards the base." Layer replied, "Be careful guys."

"Heh, just like old times, right Ryan?" Zero said, pulling out his beam saber.

"Exactly…so let's go kick some maverick ass!" Ryan grinned, summoning his Keysaber and dashing off further into the forest.

"So, how many times has Sigma been killed since we've left?" Ryan asked, slicing a Mettaur in half.

"Well, he's come back twice technically." Zero said, knocking back some mechanical bees, "Last time I know we got rid of him for good though."

"Let's hope so. Hey, is that it up ahead?" Ryan shouted, pointing at a large crab-like mechaniloid slowly crawling away from them.

"That's it, that's the one!" Layer relayed over the communicator, "Get his data and bring it back to HQ."

"Gotcha." Ryan grinned, "You're one unlucky creature to have to face us. Let's get him!"

"Wait! Typical human." Zero sighed, seeing Ryan get clamped in its pincer, "We don't know its attack pattern yet."

"Ugh, now you tell me…a little help please!" Ryan shouted, struggling to break free.

Zero having sliced the crab's arm off, Ryan tossed the scrap aside and flared his aura.

"That hurt you piece of scrap!" Ryan shouted, tearing a hole straight through the bot's torso, "Boom."

Zero shielded his eyes as the bot exploded and dropped an odd looking metal.

"Is this the thing Layer?" Ryan asked over the communicator, picking it up.

"Yeah, that's it. Bring it back here and we can analyze what's going on." Layer replied.

"Okay, X and Dark, take over for now." Zero said before teleporting back with Ryan.

"Okay, you heard them." X told Dark, "Let's get a move on."

"As long as that cutie watches out for any trouble, I can take on anything." Dark grinned, "You hear me Alia?"

"You are as they say." Alia replied with a sigh, "I'm getting that signal again, so the mechaniloid didn't get far."

"Thanks cutie, we'll keep in touch." Dark laughed, pulling out his Keysaber, "Let's roll Rock!"

"Oh God, my humor circuits are locking up in pain at that." X sighed, grabbing his head, "Just…let's go."

Entering a door, Dark and X found themselves inside a strange cavern.

"Hey X, I've been meaning to ask you something." Dark said, noticing some odd sound, "Who builds all those electronic doors into natural structures like that?"

"You know, in all the adventures I've had, I've never stopped to think about that." X answered, his face contorting in thought, "Any idea Alia?"

"What's wrong with you two? There are a large number of bats in this room." Alia sighed, "Take them out first."

"Oh, right." Dark said, charging up and letting loose a huge blast of energy, "Thanks cutie-pie."

Alia just sighed again over the communicator.

"You know, I'm not sure she likes that." X said, moving out of the cave and jumping down a waterfall with Dark in tow.

"Oh, she likes it. It's just me being playful you know." Dark laughed, "Hey Alia where's that signal, because I think its close."

"How would you know that? Oh no, it just appeared right behind you!" Alia shouted, "Be careful!"

"Call it a hunch. I see it now. Look out X!" Dark shouted, pushing X out of the way of the mechaniloid's claw slamming down.

"Dark!" X shouted, till he saw Dark holding the claw back, "What are you?"

"I am who I am X." Dark said, pulling on the claw and throwing the bot back, "Darkness Shade is my name."

"If you say so Dark." X said, getting up, "It looks like you chased it off…and it dropped another metal piece."

"Bring it back here so we can continue analyzing it." Alia said over the communicator, "I'll tell Reps and Axl to continue onto the observation lab to find it."

"Gotcha cutie, we're heading back." Dark grinned, teleporting.

"So, you ready Rookie?" Reps said, charging his blaster and kicking down the doors.

"I would be if you'd stop calling me that." Axl sighed, pulling out his guns, "It's really pissing me off."

"Sorry Rookie, but we have to tease the new guy…it just wouldn't be fun if we didn't." Reps chuckled, taking out another Mettaur.

"Whatever, let's just find that mechaniloid and finish this." Axl said, brutally filling a gorilla mechaniloid full of lead.

"Touchy much?" Pallette said over the communicator, "I'm detecting something close by that's got a different signal than the mechaniloid, but I don't think you can get to it."

"Thanks Pallette, I think I can detect where it is. Stand back Axl." Reps said, releasing a cable and linking it into a nearby door, "Let's see…level 3 encryption eh? Heh, child's play…and we're in."

The door's opening; Reps grinned as he stepped inside and saw just a simple pod.

"What the hell is this?" Reps asked.

"I know what this is…it's an upgrade pod for X from Dr. Light." Axl said, walking up to it and activating it.

"Ah, you're X's companion Axl if I'm not mistaken. If you found me then I'm guessing this world is once again at war. Very well; give these Feet parts to X. When he equips them, he'll gain the ability to dash in midair and hover. Please tell my son that I'll be waiting for him with the next part…and that I'm sorry my wish for him to live in a world of peace didn't come true." Dr. Light's hologram said before fading from sight.

"So that's X's creator, eh? He seems like a nice guy; what do we do now?" Reps asked.

Not answering him, Axl entered the stasis tube and acquired the coding for X.

"I'll have to remember to transfer this to him when we get back, let's keep going, the mechaniloid is close by." Axl said, exiting the room and continuing down the hall.

"There it is." Reps said, "It's an ugly thing, isn't it?"

"I don't think it cared for that comment." Axl said, noting it's growling.

"I don't care what it like's and what it doesn't, its scrap!" Reps shouted, unleashing a massive energy blast.

"Dude…what powers something like that?" Axl questioned, "Do you have a nuclear reactor?"

"Something like that but not nearly as dangerous." Reps said, noting all he did was take out the shields, "Huh, that's never happened before."

"Really now?" Axl said, shooting a few potshots at it, but only making it madder, "Where the hell are the others?"

"You rang?" Ryan and Zero said in unison, slicing off the mechaniloid's arms.

"Don't forget about us." X exclaimed, as he and Dark unleashed a huge jolt of energy right into the creatures' core, bringing him crashing down.

"That worked…talk about a team attack." Axl laughed, "Hey…wasn't there a researcher here?"

"Yes, Lumine was the head researcher of not only this but the Jakob's Ladder project." Alia informed over the communicator, "Guys, that second signal just reappeared, look out!"

As if on cue, a huge explosion tore a hole in the wall of the room and in came flying…

"VILE?!" shouted everyone but Axl.

"Heh…my my, this is the treat isn't it?" Vile cackled, "Not only are my good friends X and Zero here, but so are the Keybearer and his annoying other half."

"Who the hell is that Boba Fett reject?" Axl asked.

"He used to be a maverick hunter, but then he became a maverick after snapping one day." Zero explained, "I thought that we'd seen the last of you."

"Heh…I just keep getting lucky it seems." Vile chuckled, "I'll be taking the boy…I know when I'm not wanted. Be seeing you soon."

"Come back here you bastard!" Ryan shouted, jumping after him…but for not, as he teleported away.

"Dammit…that's wonderful." X sighed, "As if we didn't have enough problems."

"Sorry to interrupt guys." Layer interrupted over the communicator, "I think you should come back to HQ, there's something you need to see."

----------------------

Hunter HQ

"So, what's the problem Layer?" Zero asked as the group entered the war room.

"Well, remember that third energy signal we picked up earlier? We found out what was causing it." Layer said, brining up an image on the screen.

"It's a swirling vortex." Dark said.

"Well, obviously, but after further analysis, it apparently is a portal back to the past." Layer informed them, "It seems that this time Sigma is using some unknown technology to go back to the past and recruit previous Mavericks from his cause to fight anew."

"Hmm, let me guess…there are eight portals in total, right?" Ryan asked, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, that's right. How did you know that?" Layer asked, brushing her hair aside and staring at Ryan in surprise.

"Oh, call it a lucky guess. So…who did he recruit again?" Ryan asked.

"Well, we can't detect who, but it seems each one leads to the previous seven encounters with him…and then one apparently leads to a place here and now." Layer explained.

"Well, I propose we split up." X said, "We should be able to cover the most ground if we do that…we can't waste time with Sigma on the loose again."

"Okay, I guess we'll do that then." Ryan said, "Hey, are you going to be able to spot for us through the time rifts?"

"I'm afraid not." Alia answered, walking into the room, "We've run tests and it seems the portal's block telecommunications. You'll be on your own."

"Well, it's not like we aren't unfamiliar with that." X said, "Till you came along, we fought Sigma four times without any kind of field help."

"I wish we could do more." Alia sighed, "The only place we could spot is the one portal that leads to somewhere in this time period."

"Don't get discouraged cutie." Dark said, placing a hand on her shoulder and smiling, "You three are doing what you can for us, it's pretty nice to have some extra help for once."

"Um, well, thanks Dark." Alia said, blushing slightly, "I'd better go help Pallette and Layer ready your deployment, so if you'll excuse us."

"He's quite the charmer isn't he?" Axl asked, leaning towards Ryan and whispering to him.

"Well, he's got a good heart and intentions behind that, so I wouldn't worry." Ryan whispered back.

------------------------

Deployment Chamber

"Due to the limitations of our understanding of this technology, we're not sure exactly where in each time period you'll land. We also don't know what might happen if you run into your time period selves." Alia explained, "But if Sigma's behind this, he's probably already taken them out somehow."

"That makes enough sense." Zero said, "If he didn't do that, then he'd have his hands full reusing those scrap piles of his."

"Defeating the maverick related to each time portal should stabilize that time and send you back, closing the portal." Layer continued, "At least…that's what we're sure should happen."

"There's always the long way back." Axl joked, "Oh wait…Ryan and Dark aren't robots."

"Well, I'm a half-demon, so my life span's probably lengthened, but Ryan, well, if that happens it's been good knowing you buddy." Dark half-joked, slapping Ryan on the back.

"Gee, thanks guys." Ryan sighed, grabbing Zero's ponytail and jumping into a portal, "See you when we get back."

"Hey, not the hair!!" Zero shouted, getting pulled into the portal as well.

"He's a bit serious isn't he?" Pallette commented.

"That's just his style." Dark said, walking towards another portal, "You coming X?"

"Yeah, let's just hope this finally puts an end to it." X replied.

"Oh wait, X, take this." Axl said, handing him a disk, "Dr. Light wanted you to have it."

"Ah, another upgrade…thanks father." X said, installing it and seeing his new leg parts installing, "Nice. Thanks Axl."

"Ladies, I shall miss your company but fear not, Darkness Shade will return to you." Dark grinned, blowing the girls a kiss, and jumping into the portal.

"Shameless." X sighed and laughed, following him into the portal.

"Well, that just leaves us Rookie." Reps laughed, jumping into another portal, "Cannonball!"

"He's such a weird reploid." Axl sighed, entering the portal, "Here goes nothing."

--------------------------

Early in the 21XX Century

"Pfft!" Dark shouted, spitting the snow out of his mouth, "If I wanted a snow cone, I would've gone for a small, not extra large."

"Hmmm, the surroundings indicate a massive artic base of some type." X relayed, scanning for any possible signs of where they were, "Ah, bingo."

Walking over to a container, the date revealed all X needed to know.

"This is the very beginning Dark." X said, readying his buster, "This is when all this mess started. I know where we are and who we're going to face now."

"Cool." Dark said, standing up and shaking the snow off of himself, "Let's boogie."

Continuing on the path, Dark was rather unamused at how simple the enemies were.

"What a bore." Dark yawned, slashing another robo-bunny into pieces, "Everything is so simple here; there isn't a challenge anywhere."

"Well, if you haven't noticed, we're a little different too." X replied, taking out a lumberjack bot.

Dark was puzzled by what X meant, then looked at himself.

"Holy 16-Bit!" Dark shouted, hearing another voice say the same thing, "What was that?"

"What was what?" X asked, entering a cavernous area, "Hurry up, you're wasting time."

After sliding around a rather dark and dreary cavern, X and Dark were confronted by yet another of Dr. Light's capsule.

"Ah, my dear X. I had hoped that this could all be avoided somehow, but if the world ever needed a hero, I will give you all the help I can for you to be him." Dr. Light stated, "Entering this capsule will give you an enhancement for your helmet; with it, you'll be able to detect energy signals with more precision as well as increase your charge speed. One day I hope for a peace you can enjoy…"

Entering the capsule, X acquired his new helmet and the duo trekked further in to the cave, dodging icicles, bats, and a strangely out of place ostrich.

"That's just weird…why wouldn't Sigma upgrade all the layouts with newer robots if he's trying to detain us?" Dark asked, finally seeing some daylight.

"Well, maybe he doesn't want to detain us…this could all be some type of stalling technique." X answered, seeing the boss door up ahead, "Well, you ready for this?"

"Heh, do I have to make another bad Rock pun?" Dark chuckled, readying his Keysaber.

"Please don't; bad puns and robotic logic tend to not mix too well." X sighed, blasting open the door and seeing a long forgotten foe.

"Bwahahah! Well, if it was to be anyone, I'm glad it was you X." cackled a short, stubby penguin Reploid.

"Chill Penguin; even when you weren't maverick I didn't like you." X quipped, "Can we get this over with?"

"You think you can win against me after my master upgraded me?" Chill laughed, taunting X.

"Have you ever seen what a half-demon can do to a robotic penguin?" X asked, grinning.

"I can't say that I have. Why do you ask?" Chill replied, caught off-guard.

"Well I haven't, but if it's anything like watching one take out a robotic crab I'm in for one hell of a show." X answered, stepping aside and showing Dark to Chill, "My friend would like to say hello."

"Hello." Dark shouted, dashing at Chill and proceeding to render pain that's not really repeatable even in type-able form upon him, reducing him to no more than shrapnel.

"I only wish I had some popcorn, and then it'd be perfect." X laughed, enjoying the show.

'Isn't he supposed to be a pacifist?' came the internal thoughts of the author, giving X some popcorn and then sulking off to see what trouble the others were causing.

---------------------------

6 months later in the year 21XX

"This place looks pretty high-tech." Ryan commented, "We might have some trouble getting in."

"Oh don't worry; based on how we look, I don't think the enemies will be too much trouble." Zero replied.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked, looking at himself, "Holy 16-Bit!"

"Great, just shout and alert everyone that we're here." Zero sighed, grabbing Ryan and pulling him behind some crates, "You may be strong, but you're still human…and stupid."

"I take offense to that." Ryan growled, hearing a noise come closer.

Zero signaled to be quiet as a crowd of reploids appeared to investigate the noise.

"Hmm, I think we're going to have to be a bit stealthier here." Ryan whispered, seeing a battalion of robots go by his and Zero's position, "Let's go!"

"I don't see why we can't just fight them, it's not like we couldn't take them." Zero whispered in reply, irked at not being able to fight directly.

"Why waste time on a battle not necessary?" Ryan whispered back, seeing a doorway appearing nearby, "Looks like that's the way forward, let's go!"

Dashing through the nearby doorway, Ryan and Zero were caught off guard by a barrage of blocks falling from the ceiling.

"Look out!" Zero shouted, slashing a block and jumping through it, "We've got to get to the other side now!"

"Just our luck…so much for staying quiet." Ryan sighed, jumping around like a frog to avoid the falling block, "If I wanted to play Tetris, I'd have asked to go to that world."

"Are you crazy? If you tempt the author like that, he may just do it. I've heard he has been watching Captain N as of late." Zero shouted in reply, diving through the doorway behind Ryan as it sealed shut.

"So you have arrived." Came a voice, "I must say, our master said to expect something different, but I did not expect a human to accompany you."

"Show yourself you filthy maverick!" Zero shouted, gripping his saber tightly.

"Calm down Zero." Ryan chided him, "He may not be visible, but he's in this room somewhere. Don't let him get under your skin."

"So the human has more possibility than I realized. How amusing." The voice said again, this time accompanied by the launch of three projectiles.

"Hit the dirt!" Ryan shouted, bringing up his Keysaber to block, only to have the projectile stick to it, "Oh crap!"

With a resounding boom, Ryan was thrown back against the wall and fell limply to the ground.

"Na na na na na na na na na…" Ryan lulled as his head spun in circles, "Katamari Damacy!"

"The hell?" Zero quipped, confused as hell, "Dammit Ryan, pull yourself together."

"Ugh…what happened?" Ryan huffed, standing up, "That was a stupid move because now I know your energy signature. He's up there Zero!"

Jumping at where Ryan had pointed, Zero slashed and hit empty air.

"I knew you'd do that." Ryan laughed, dashing towards the ground under Zero and connecting with the target, "Gotcha!"

"Urg, curse you human!" the figure said, becoming visible.

"Magna Centipede…why they dug you out of the scrapheap I won't know." Zero said, "Too bad you won't be around long enough for us to care. Rakukojin!"

With a fierce downward plunge of his sword, Zero finished off Magna Centipede once again.

-----------------------------

Meanwhile, some time later

"Will you get off of me?" Reps sighed, shoving Axl off of him.

"Sorry, it's not like I have control when we jumped into that thing." Axl sighed, standing up, "Where the hell are we?"

"I don't have any clue…don't you recognize this place?" Reps questioned, scanning the surroundings.

"It matches a file I have from those I copied about Sigma's previous attempts. It would seem we've landed sometime during his fifth attempt and this stage belongs to someone named Axle the Red." Axl answered with a sigh, "I heard about this guy, he's…um, well, different."

"He must be big on plants, seeing as this stage is decked out in them. A real guns and roses fan it seems." Reps noted, readying his blaster, "Well, enough goofing around, we've got work to do."

"Damn! Bottomless pit after bottomless pit, spikes of pointy doom, and flowers that want to eat me!" Reps shouted in frustration, "I'm going to rip the petals off of that the Red fellow one by one when we get to him."

"Calm down old-timer." Axl chuckled, "We shouldn't be too far away from where the boss is and then you can show this Axle how we vent our anger."

"That almost seems like something Zero would say." Reps replied, flying over another bottomless pit before finding the entryway to the boss lair, "Well, this is it…let's get this done with."

Blasting down the door, Axl and Reps walked into the room and drew their guns on Axle the Red.

"Somebody called about a weed infestation." Reps stated, "We're here to eradicate it."

"Oh my." Axle the Red sighed, placing down his cup of tea, "I dear say I was expecting you darlings quite some time ago. My master did say more than one of you was likely to show and I dear say that was correct. Mmmm, twice the fun."

"This guy is freaking me out." Axl stated, his trigger-finger shaking, "Let's just take care of him before something weird happens."

"Now now boys, you'll each get your turn. Still, 2 on 1 is a bit unfair, so let me even the odds." Axle the Red stated, pulling out his rose whip and summoning a double of himself, "Now, let's have a fun time."

"That's it; I'm chopping this guy and getting to the root of the problem." Reps shouted, catching the first Axle's whip and swinging him into the wall.

"It seems this one likes it rough." This Axle stated before fading away.

"Hmmm, well my dear boy, it's just us two…and it takes two to tango. En garde!" The true Axle the Red stated, turning his whip into a sword and slashing at Axl.

"Urk!" Axl shouted, his guns getting sliced as he blocked the attack and fell backwards, "That won't stop me!"

"You don't have the willpower to resist me." Axle stated with a malicious laugh, closing in on Axl.

"Wanna turn up the heat?!" Axl shouted, pulling out his flamethrower and torching Axle the Red.

"Ahhhhh!" Axle shouted, running around before burning down to nothing.

"Jeez, talk about new meaning to the word flaming." Reps joked, helping Axl up, "Let's go, I'm far too creeped out after all that."

"I can't believe the author talked you into using that joke." Axl said, "We're going to get letters, I can just feel it."

----------------------------

Back to early 21XX

"Ugh, I'm so sick of time travel right now." Dark sighed, "I don't suppose I could invoke a Deus ex Machina right now could I?"

"Who are you talking to?" X questioned, eyeing his friend's behavior.

"The author, you know the hack that writes this mess." Dark answered.

"Why, are you getting bored?" X quipped.

"Actually, yes…he takes almost two months monkeying around with other stuff till he gets back to this story and then he makes it drag." Dark ranted, "I want to get on to the good stuff."

'Will it shut you up?' the author grumbled, 'Damn ungrateful characters.'

"Yes." Dark simply stated, grinning.

'Okay, very well.' The author said clearing his throat and doing some mystical incantation, which soundly remarkably like that of a pen scribbling, 'Okay, I used my divine and merciful abilities to take out two roadblocks on your way; that's it though. No more shortcuts out of me.'

"You're the best!" Dark shouted, "I know you had that really stupid Blast Hornet joke ready and all, but it's for the best. The pun limit is already at a bit of a high point."

'Just go dammit!' the author shouted, shaking the ground.

---------------------

Back in the present day

"I'm getting some type of energy build up Alia." Layer stated, typing away at the control panel, "Any ideas as to what's going on?"

"I think it's the guys." Alia replied, "Brace for anything."

With a loud scream and some type of inappropriate sound effect occurring, the guys flew through the portals and then saw them close up behind them.

"Hey, we're back!" Ryan said with a cough, shaking his head to clear it.

"Hooray for our side." X murmured, pushing Dark off of him.

"I know you just got back, but you guys totally need an update." Palette said, bringing up the main screen, "Something happened while you were gone."

"As you can see from the screen, in addition to the three portals you entered, two other ones just mysteriously disappeared as if their signal was destroyed." Alia commented, "We're not sure the cause, but we're looking into it."

"Oh, that was just the author." Dark explained.

"You got the author to cheat again?" Reps sighed, looking at Dark a tad annoyed.

"Author? What are you going on about?" Alia asked, puzzled, "I don't have any file on someone named that."

"Well my lovely Alia, the author is a mystical being that commands great power and commands all that we do and say." Dark explained in a smooth tone.

"You must be joking?" Layer interjected, a tad skeptical.

"Of course he is…the author is just a hack that gets lucky every so often." Reps laughed, "Like how he still has fans."

"You know, we used to have a nice fourth wall at one point." Ryan sighed, "If you tempt the author too much, he might just do something…diabolical."

"I think these guys are like, crazy and stuff." Palette whispered to Layer.

"Well, regardless, it seems the other portals have shut themselves off and now three new ones have opened up in addition, though the energy they contain is different from the first ones." Alia further explained, "I've got a bad feeling about this; be careful."

"Ah, such concern from the lovely Alia. I'm honored." Dark said with a grin, being as charming as ever.  
"I did mention I'm a robot, right?" Alia questioned, sighing at Dark's overzealousness.

"That is irregardless, you are a beautiful lady showing concern for me. I'd be a fool not to graciously accept such kindness." Dark said warmly, chuckling softly.

"Okay Casanova, come on." X sighed, grabbing him and throwing him into one portal before him.

"Alia, don't let Dark bother you too much." Ryan said, offering some condolence, "Let's go Zero."

With the two of them jumping in another portal, Reps and Axl quickly made their way to the third portal as the three spotters were left behind again.

"Alia, are you blushing?" Palette asked, noting her cheeks were slightly red.

"No, of course not…why would I?" Alia forced out, flustered by Dark's words, "Oh, what's this?"

Kneeling down, she found something that Dark had apparently dropped along with a note.

"Come on girls, we've got work to do!" Alia shouted, rushing off to the R&D ward with the other two following in confusion.

-----------------------

Undisclosed Location in 21XX

"Why are we all here in the same place if we jumped into three different portals?" Ryan questioned, seeing the others there.

"I'm not sure…I'm getting some weird interference as well." Axl answered, "I can't sense anything."

"Well, all we can do is just keep going forward." Zero commanded, leading the way through the first door…which closed trapping X and Dark in the room.

"Dammit!" X shouted, "Just keep going guys, we'll find a way to catch up."

"You heard them, let's go!" Reps shouted, dashing ahead with Axl.

"Wait guys, we need to stay on our toes in case something else…" Ryan warned before the door shut behind them, "…happens."

"Okay, so we've all been separated, what's the point on this?" Axl questioned, "Why section us off?"

"The answer is quite obvious." said a voice through three different portals, "We wanted it this way!"

"Vile?!" all six of them shouted, "Wait? Three Viles?!"

"Yes it is true. I have used Sigma's strange new powers to grab myself from the other two time periods in order to test your strength!" Vile shouted, "So, burn! Burn in hell!"

"This is ridiculous!" Ryan shouted, dodging Vile X3's blasts, "There's got to be some way to take them out!"

"Well, how did you guys do it last time?" Axl asked, rolling and firing off some shots.

"I don't suppose anymore Deus ex Machina's are in the pipeline are they?" Dark asked, knocking Vile X1 back.

"I'm getting a message that the author is tired of being mocked and we should…oh my, those are some harsh words." Reps blinked, stunned by the message's apparent vulgarity.

"Fools!" Vile X8 shouted, firing a huge missile volley at Reps.

"Oh snap!" Reps shouted, barely getting his shields up before getting hit and knocked back into the wall.

"Reps!" Axl shouted, "You asshole!"

"Thank you; I do try my best to be such a prick!" Vile X8 said with a bow.

"…Da…rk…Dark, can you hear me?" Alia's voice said over his communicator.

"Ah, you found it then, did you? I was wondering where it was." Dark commented, knocking Vile X1's attack back at him, "Any help?"

"Yeah, it turns out that a logical paradox is all you need to fix this." Alia explained.

"By God, it's so simple and convoluted, it has to work!" Ryan shouted.

"May I?" X asked.

"We'd be insulted if you didn't." Zero replied.

"Okay, so you plucked yourself from time, right?" X asked.

"That's correct." Vile X8 answered.

"Well, if you don't exist in time back then, then you didn't exist so how could you exist later to pluck yourself out of time again so that the you here could be rebuilt to go back and get the other two versions of you when no versions of you ever existed to begin with and thus you don't exist at all since the you back then never existed?" X asked.

"…" Vile X8 said, before he and the other two disappeared in a puff of logic.

"I saw it and I still don't believe it." Axl responded as the doors opened and a new portal appeared.

"Let's go back, my brain hurts." Reps stated, jumping through the portal followed by the others.

--------------------------

Back at Maverick Hunter HQ

"That was some good work Alia." Dark grinned, hugging her, "Brains and beauty are a deadly (and sexy) combination as you prove."

"Will you knock it off?" Ryan sighed, pulling him off of her, "Sorry Alia."

"No, its okay…he's just appreciative." Alia forced out, "Anyway, thanks to Dark we can now spot for you through the time rifts."

"Oh great, just another thing he doesn't need over us." Zero sighed, face palming in defeat.

"Regardless, Sigma taunted you or something over through a video while you were gone but when he saw just the Spotters here; he just gave up and went to eat some ice cream." Palette informed, "I think he's gotten lazy."

"I think the author's just up too late writing and has lost his mind." X sighed before readying his armor, "Come on and let's get a move on. Three more to go."

--------------------------

The Internet (circa 21XX)

"I feel all tingly." Ryan commented, "Where did we end up Zero?"

"We're on the internet." Zero replied, "You might have a hard time adjusting."

Seeing three smiley faces float by followed by what appeared to be a typo firing flaming words, Ryan just sighed and shook his head.

"I don't think I'll have too much trouble." Ryan chuckled, pulling out his Keysaber and dashing forward.

Unbeknownst to them, someone was watching and chuckled in a depraved manner.

"Sooooooooo, someone has come into my lair. Let's see how they enjoy my legions of netizens. Release the memes!" shouted a bizarre birdlike creature.

"Hey Ryan, did you hear something?" Zero asked, as the two of them dodged firewall blockades.

"I think so, it's something loud and…big." Ryan replied, looking around and then spotting, "Oh Dear God!"

"What the hell is that thing?" Zero shouted, seeing a large white cat.

"It's Longcat! Aim for its weak spot for massive damage!" Ryan shouted, tossing his Keysaber at Longcat's bellybutton.

"If you say so." Zero said with confusing, firing his buster at Longcat as well.

"Mrrrreowwwargh!" Longcat screeched as he was brought down.

"Thank God!" Ryan sighed, "You have no idea how close that was."

"Hey Ryan, do you hear another rumble?" Zero questioned, puzzled by the sudden turn of randomness.

"It's coming from behind us." Ryan said, turning around and staring wide-eyed.

"Get them! Those guys broke 4CHAN!" shouted a huge crowd rushing towards them.

"We can't fight all those people!" Zero shouted, "Run!"

With that, Ryan and Zero zoomed past various portals and ran into and through two odd, egg-shaped creatures.

"What was with that crowd?" said the first one in an odd dialect.

"I don't know Bob, but what was with those two guys who ran smack into us?" said the second in the same odd dialect.

"Well Weebl, at least they didn't take our pies." Bob replied, pulling out an empty pie pan, "Our pie!"

"Wankers!!!!" shouted Weebl as the view zoomed in on the empty pie pan, "Damn you mysterious guys, you win this time!"

"That was rather bizarre, was it not?" Ryan commented after he and Zero lost the crowd, "Hey, where'd you get that pie?"

"I think I grabbed it off of those fellows we ran into." Zero answered, "It appears to be apple pie."

"Anyway, we appear to have reached the boss room." Ryan stated, "Let's hope nothing else crazy happens."

After the clicking whirr and noise that accompanies entering the boss doors, Ryan and Zero came face to face with a bird of some kind.

"What the hell?" Ryan questioned, "A bird?"

"Well, what were you expecting?" The bird like creature asked.

"THAT!" Ryan shouted pointing to a window displaying a gif of a groundhog being zoomed in on whom then turned around and dramatically looked at the camera.

"I wasn't expecting that." The bird creature said before facefaulting.

"Were you expecting this then?!" Zero shouted, throwing the pie at its face.

"Hmmm, apple." The creature said in amusement, "Regardless, I am Cyber Peacock and you won't stop me!"

"Not so fast!" shouted a mysteriously dressed egg-shaped hero, "That's our pie!"

With that, a wagon was flown in by two strangely dressed egg-shaped characters accompanied by the shouting of: TEAM LASER EXPLOSION!

"What in the name of Capcom is going on?" Zero shouted, confused, "The net was never this confusing."

"Come Boy Exploserous Laser! To the skies!" shouted the larger egg-shaped hero, followed by a record skipping sound.

"Shouldn't we stop the pie thief first Lord Laserous Explosion?" commented Exploserous Laser.

"Right…get him Bob!" shouted Laserous Explosion.

"Laser Pelvis Attack!" Shouted Exploserous Laser, launching a beam from his waist belt buckle at Cyber Peacock.

With that, the pie ignited on his face and he clutched it shouting why over and over again.

"The wrong is the right! To the skies!" shouted Laserous Explosion as the two of them flew off in their wagon again.

"…" Zero stared at the sight that had just occurred and fell over.

"Zero?" Ryan asked, before hearing the door break down, "Oh crap, you guys."

"There they are! Get them!" Shouted the crowd again.

'Wait, I have an idea.' Ryan thought, putting away his weapon.

"Dudez, wtf?!" Ryan shouted, "OMG, I'm not the one you're searching for Nyo; the one who fuxxored to the maxxor 4Chan is that damn cat!"

This was followed by Ryan pointing at the burning Cyber Peacock, who was still screaming in pain.

"Lolz Dude! " the group replied, ganging up on Cyber Peacock and finishing him off.

"How did that work?" Zero questioned, standing back up and looking at Ryan.

"Easy, I simply exploited the fact that "That damn cat" is forced changed to Cyber Peacock on the message boards." Ryan calmly explained, "So let's get the heck out of here before someone sages this thread."

-------------------------------------

Reploid Processing Plant 21XX (XX amount of time later!)

"What is this place?" Dark shuddered, "The stench of death is definitely in the air."

"This is where reploids who are no longer functioning are taken so that they can be recycled." Alia answered, "Nearly all of the old machines defeated by Maverick Hunters are taken here for processing."

"That explains the heat." Dark sighed, "Okay X, the faster we get out of this hellhole the better."

"You don't have to tell me twice, I didn't like this place the last time I came here." X added, "Let's just be careful…the machinery here is very dangerous."

"Good God!" Dark shouted, nearly avoiding yet another crushing mechanism as he and X continued their trek through the Reploid recycling plant, "What is wrong with you people?"

"Hey, it's the future, what did you expect?" X replied, laying into some walkie-talkie sporting Metools.

"I expected something less barbaric and dated as a compactor!" Dark shouted, getting pinned under a pillar, "Oh shit!"

"Dark!" X shouted, pushing his hands up and holding the compactor back as Dark tried to free himself, "Hurry up! This isn't easy!"

"Ugh!" Dark shouted, slicing the column to pieces and freeing himself, "Come on X, let's boogie!"

With that, X let go and the pair of heroes dashed out of the path as the crusher came crashing down.

"For God's sake, I hope we don't have to do that again." Dark sighed, "So, Alia, what else can we expect?"

"Well…um, maybe it's best if I didn't tell you." Alia sighed, dodging the question.

"Is it more compactors?" Dark asked.

"If I said no, would you believe me?" Alia asked back.

"Only if it were true." Dark answered, "To hell with this! It's god-modding time!"

"What does that mean?" X questioned, seeing Dark flare his aura and then grab a hold of him, "Hey wait, hold on here!"

"X? Dark?" Alia questioned, unaware of what was going on.

"Whooooo!" Dark shouted, tearing through the compactor and blowing away anything unlucky enough to be in his flight path, "The express line is always the best! 10 items or less for the win!"

"What does that mean?!" X shouted, "Oh god, I think I'm going to hurl!"

Upon seeing the boss doors nearby, Dark slowed down and came to a stop just outside them.

"Thank you for flying Darkness Shade airlines. We hope that in the future should you wish to skip annoying levels, you'll use us. Have a good day!" Dark shouted with a grin, "Hey X? You okay buddy?"

"I'm going to…ugh." X shouted, holding his stomach and retching badly.

"How the hell can you do that anyway?" Dark asked, "I didn't think Reploids ate food…"

After calming his stomach and breathing deeply, X was in battle shape once again and entered the boss doors with Dark.

"I'm getting a signal. The boss is on the other side of that door…records indicate one Metal Shark Player." Alia informed the duo.

"Hmmm, "Metal Shark Prayer"?" Dark asked.

"No, I think she said "Metal Shark Preyer"." X replied.

"Does it really matter? Just go kick his ass and get back here!" Alia ordered.

"Yessum!" Dark shouted, dashing through the door with X in tow.

"Oh my, it seems two fine specimens have entered my lair." Metal Shark stated, seeing Dark and X plow through the doors, "Pity only one of you is a Reploid though, the human is of no use for my machinations."

"Okay Metal Shark Player, we're putting an end to this once and for all!" Dark shouted, pulling out his Keysaber, "Have at you!"

"Fool!" Metal Shark replied, blocking his attack with an anchor, "Filthy human, when will you learn that Reploids are the superior species?"

"Maybe when you learn that I'm not a human! I'm a half-demon!" Dark shouted, pulling back and plowing his fist right through Metal Shark's chest cavity, "Perhaps in the future you'll learn the difference, but you're going right back where you belong."

Tossing him aside, Dark watched as Metal Shark exploded in a brilliant shower of lights and colors.

"Good going! That was some nice fireworks." X congratulated Dark, before watching him fall over, "Dark, what's wrong?"

"I don't feel so good…still not used to…this body." Dark commented before passing out.

----------------------------

Radio Control Tower (XX amount of time later)

"Well rookie, we've got the final one to take care of and then maybe Sigma will show himself." Reps said, readying his weapons.

"Grrr, the sooner you guys finish helping and leave, the better. I'm getting sick of that." Axl responded, readying his own weapons, "Let's get climbing, Palette said the boss is at the top of this monstrosity."

"Hey rookie, isn't this the time when you first showed up?" Reps asked; taking down some hornets as the two climbed.

"Yeah…it seems like such a long time ago now." Axl replied with a groan, thinking back on those events.

"I wouldn't daydream right now kid." Reps sighed, slashing away the hive that was spawning the hornets, "We've got to stay focused."

"Hey guys, I'm getting some totally crazy signal from higher up the tower. It seems like another crab based mechaniloid like at Noah Park." Palette informed over the comlink, "It seems it's got the same weak points, so you guys can handle this."

"Thanks for the update." Reps replied, "I can see it up ahead."

After one quick rehash of a sub-boss battle later, our two heroes continued their trek towards the top.

"Hey, what happened to the battle?" Axl asked, trashing a bomb-throwing bot.

"Well, it's what I like to call "The Author feels the chapter is dragging" effect." Reps replied, blocking a few shots and returning fire.

"Do you think this chapter has enough author knocking jokes to reach the quota yet?" Axl sighed, shaking his head.

"Probably, but Scott would say never!" Reps laughed, finally approaching the top of the tower, "Hey, do you hear dance music?"

"Yeah, I do, what the hell is causing that?" Axl asked, "Oh dear God."

"Is that a…dancing onion?" Reps chuckled, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Dear lord, it's Tornado Tonion." Axl coughed, trying not to laugh either.

"OH, Axl. You look the best my boy." Tonion said upon seeing them, "Do you come enjoy my dance?"

Tonion however could not figure out why it looked like the two of them were in pain.

"What is the matter with yous?" Tonion asked.

At that the two of them just couldn't contain themselves and started laughing without abandoned.

"Oh my God!" Reps shouted through his laughs, "I've seen some weird things, but a dancing onion with an accent? That takes the cake."

"I'm sorry, I just…I so wanted to do this last time." Axl cried from his laughing, "You just look so ridiculous!"

"You no like my dance?" Tonion asked, tears welling up in his eyes, "But I…"

"I can't…it's too much." Reps shouted, falling to the floor in laughter-induced pain.

"I...I…" Tonion got out before exploding to pieces.

"Did we…did we just cause him to die from laughter-induced shame?" Axl asked, trying to catch his breath.

"I think we did. Holy crap!" Reps panted, catching his breath, "Oh my. Well, that takes care of that. Let's head back."

---------------------

Maverick Hunter HQ: Present Day

"Ah, you all made it back. I'm relieved." Alia stated, "What happened to Dark?"

"I don't know….he said something about not being used to his new body and fainted." X replied, "We need to get him somewhere to recover."

"I'll handle that, the others have some new info to fill you guys in with." Alia nodded, taking Dark and hefting him to the sick bay, "You're heavier than you look."

"Okay, Layer, Palette, what's the situation?" Zero asked, "Did the portals seal up?"

"Yes, as soon as you all returned, the three remaining portals closed up and the disturbances across space time were fixed." Layer explained, "So far, nothing else has popped up, so we're not sure what's going to happen next."

"Something weird did show up though." Palette stated, handing a chip to X, "It just showed up addressed to you. Naturally, we analyzed it and it seems to be some type of power increase chip."

"I recognize this component." X stated, "It's for my Ultimate Armor…too bad there isn't anything to use it for now."

"You idiot! Why did you say that?!" Ryan shouted, "You never say stuff like that!"

"Why?" Axl asked, "What's wrong with that?"

"Whenever you say something like that, fate likes to throw you a slap in the face for it." Reps explained, "Well, now we just wait till whatever it decides should happen for saying that."

-----------------------

Maverick Hunters HQ: Sick/Repair Bay

"We don't really have much to help with unfortunately." Alia said to herself, "We have so few human hunters that we aren't really equipped to help them."

Alia looked over Dark's vitals and noted he was okay, though he looked to be over exhausted.

"I wonder how that happened." Alia mused, "Of course, this thing is meant to scan humans or robots, so anything that's a hybrid will probably confuse it."

"I'm sure I'm no more confusing than the next person." Dark mused, slowly coming to, "Ah, I must be in heaven. Why else are the angels so pretty?"

"Heh, you're feeling better I take it?" Alia asked, sighing at his behavior.

"Yes, my new body is powerful but it sure burns energy faster. I guess I've been pushing too hard." Dark said with a grin, "I think a little loving care would help speed up my healing."

"I keep telling you, I'm a robot…why doesn't that faze you?" Alia said, scratching the back of her head.

"I already told you, a pretty face does things to me that just make me act this way." Dark stated, sitting up, "Do you not wish for the attention?"

"It's not that…it's kind of nice since I…" Alia stopped, looking down.

"Something's on your mind. Perhaps I can help." Dark offered, standing up and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I've only had one other person I cared before…and I ended up betraying him." Alia explained, standing up and leading Dark to a locked room, "This is what's left of him."

"Goodness…what happened to this guy? I'm guessing he's seen better days." Dark said without thinking, "Wait, I'm sorry Alia."

"No, it's okay Dark. I guess telling someone will help me heal too." Alia sat down, looking at the reploid's remains, "His name was Gate…and we were partners long before I joined as a Spotter here. He was capable of making such complex Reploid brains that they could not be analyzed."

"So, what happened then? I take it someone didn't care for that." Dark pried, sitting down next to her.

"There were those that opposed this…they threatened us but Gate was unfazed. Unfortunately, I was a weak fool…I let their threats against me force my hand. I helped destroy his creations in ways that made them look accidental and that shamed his work." Alia sighed, looking at the floor, "He was discredited and mocked for being a sham, and then isolated himself away. It was some time after that that I joined up with the Maverick Hunters…I believe it was not long after you first came here and helped with an incident involving the Heartless."

"Yes…Ryan and his friends came here." Dark answered, taking off his shades, "There's still more, isn't there?"

"Yes…I suppose I can't fool you." Alia said with a slight smile, looking into Dark's eyes, "After the Eurasia incident, Gate apparently found a piece of Zero at the crash site infected with the Zero Virus. I'm guessing this drove him mad and caused him to resurrect his eight creations…Metal Shark Player was one of them."

"I see then; that explains why you wanted us to just hurry up and finish when we got to him." Dark surmised.

"Yeah…it brought up bad memories. After defeating them, X and Zero took on Gate himself at the crash site and found out Gate was resurrecting Sigma. X took out Gate and then Sigma's half-finished and mindless body and then came back here with Gate's remains." Alia finished, "He said he was sorry that all this happened and that maybe one day I could fix him. So far, I haven't made much progress."

"I see…that explains your reaction to me then." Dark sighed, "I apologize. I didn't know."

"It's okay…to be truthful; it made me feel better; hopeful." Alia smiled, taking Dark's hand and squeezing it, "I felt like I could do anything."

"Alia…" Dark said softly, gently placing his hand on her face.

"Dark…" Alia sighed and closed her eyes as the two kissed.

A soft, white light filled the room as something materialized in Alia's hand.

"Dark…what was that just now?" Alia asked, confused about the object in her hand now.

"That my dear, is what we call a keychain." Dark explained, pulling out his Keysaber, "And it powers up this."

Attaching the new keychain to his Keysaber, Dark received its new form: Connected Hearts.

"It's beautiful." Alia gasped, noting the slight glow it gave off, "I made that?"

"Yes you did and knowing us, we're going to need that." Dark grinned, placing an arm around her, "Until then, I think I know something I can help you with."

"Dark…" Alia softly said before hugging him…

-------------------------------

Maverick Hunters HQ: Control Room

"You know, not to complain, but I'm getting a bit bored." Ryan growled, "When is fate going to come calling?"

"You know, you should be glad we have this time to rest." Zero sighed, "We've been ran quite ragged you know."

"Still, I can empathize. Down time isn't exactly the best." Reps replied, "Right rookie?"

"Would it be too much for you to call me Axl for once?" Axl sighed.

"Maybe." Reps laughed.

Suddenly, as if to taunt them, the alarm rang out through the complex.

"Finally!" Ryan shouted, tired of waiting, "What've we got?"

"There's a strange signal coming from the moon not far from the Jakob's Ladder project area." Layer stated, pulling up the display, "If these readings are correct, it's Sigma."

"So, he finally showed himself." Dark said, walking in with Alia, "You guys ready to tackle this?"

"And just where have you two been all this time?" Reps questioned, eyeing Dark suspiciously, "You couldn't have been out this long."

"We had some things to take care of, but I'm ready to fight as long as Alia and the others help spot." Dark replied with a grin, "Let's get to that elevator!"

With that, the six of them took off towards Jakob's Ladder's entrance while the three spotters got themselves composed.

"Hey, what were you two up to? You can spill girl." Palette pried, "It's obvious he's sweet on you."

"Oh, nothing happened you two. Dark and I just talked and stuff." Alia replied, readying her COM gear.

"Oh come on! I've never seen you smile like that before!" Palette whined.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day." Alia grinned, "Can you guys hear us?"

-----------------------

Jakob's Ladder Ascent

"Yeah, I've got you loud and clear cutie." Dark replied, "So far we haven't met any resistance, so I think he's just inviting us in."

"You're saying he wants to fight us right off the bat?" X asked, "That doesn't sound like Sigma."

"Well, you guys have more experience with him, but maybe he feels that with us on the moon, we're more vulnerable." Ryan explained.

"Hey wait, I just thought of something." Zero interjected, "You and Dark aren't robots…how will you survive in space?"

"Hmmm, that's a good question." Ryan half-laughed, "Um, any idea Dark?"

"I believe we should have a solution." Alia responded.

"Right as always hon." Dark said with a grin, pulling out two small devices, "Here, place this on your wrist."

Taking the device, Ryan attached it to his wrist and pushed the glowing button on it.

Within seconds both Dark and himself were covered in a thin force-field, now protected from the harshness of space.

"I had a feeling we might head into space, so Alia helped me craft these little gadgets for the two of us." Dark explained, "We shouldn't have to worry; the power source of these are that jewel Kagome gave us. Based on the readings we got, it has nigh infinite power."

"That's good to know, because you guys are just about at the top." Layer explained, "Odd, I'm still not picking up anything other than Sigma's signal."

"I'm not detecting anything either." Axl added, "This is so weird. Sigma has nothing protecting this place."

"I've got just the music for this place then!" Reps shouted, pulling up a sound file and playing it through his internal speakers.

"Is that? Is that what I think it is?" Ryan laughed, "Is that song 'The Moon' from that DuckTales game?"

"Would you believe me if I said it wasn't?" Reps asked.

"I think it's got a good beat." X said, bobbing his head up and down.

"Can you guys focus just a bit?" Axl sighed.

"Oh lighten up rookie, we're just tense and trying not to stress too much." Reps replied, turning the song down, "Well, I see his palace up ahead, so I guess we should head for there."

----------------------------

Sigma's Palace: 2nd Floor

"Where are all the baddies?" Zero sighed, "All we've found are spikes and jumps and crazy shit like that."

"I'm not sure. This is almost too easy." Ryan murmured, "I think Sigma's putting us on."

"Hey guys, I think you need to take a look at this." Dark gasped, "What the hell could have done all this?"

In front of them lie the wreckage of what seemed to be the missing baddies, strewn about in a most unfortunate manner.

"This is some major wreckage." X said, looking over the area, "Girls were there any other signals recently?"

"None that we can tell." Layer replied, "Why? What's wrong?"

"There's this massive destruction in front of us which seems to explain the emptiness here." Reps replied.

"An untraceable enemy? That's mondo bad news." Palette said, "We'll keep tracking, but Sigma's up ahead."

"Thanks girls." Dark answered back, "We'll be back before you know it."

"You'd better." Alia told him, "You promised."

"Heh, don't worry." Dark laughed, and then noticed something on the ground, "Hello? What's this?"

"What did you find Dark?" Ryan asked, "No…that's not what I think it is. It can't be."

"I'm afraid it is." Dark glumly replied, handing the object to Reps, "Reps scan this and confirm what we know."

"Right." Reps said, cross-referencing the object with info from their adventures, "Affirmative. This feather is Sephiroth's."

"So he did this then." Dark sighed, "He's obviously not here anymore, but why was he here?"

"Who are you talking about?" X asked, "Sephiroth? Who is that?"

"He's the one behind all this currently. It involves a lot of confusing identity plot holes and such, but he's manipulating things…at least with the Heartless or such." Ryan tried to explain, "It's kind of complicated."

"Regardless, we need to just finish up here then. We can figure that out later." Reps replied, dashing ahead with Axl.

"Can't let them have all the fun." Zero chuckled, dashing off followed by the others.

---------------------

Sigma's Palace: Throne Room

"Ha Ha Ha. This is such a wonderful treat." Sigma stated from his throne, "Not only are my good hunter friends here, but so are the bearers of the key. This is marvelous."

"Sigma!" Zero shouted, "Why can't you just die for a change?"

"You're one to talk Blondie." Sigma retorted.

"Why'd you bother coming back Sigma?" Dark asked, "Did Sephiroth have anything to do with this?"

"Oh, that's who that mysterious fellow was, eh?" Sigma said manner-of-factly, "He made quite a ruckus and then just left after seeing you weren't here. Regardless, enough mucking around. I'm going to finish you now."

With that, Sigma jumped from his throne and came down at the heroes with a giant sword.

"Dear God, is someone overcompensating?" Axl joked, dodging the blow.

"Overcompensate this!" Sigma shouted, zapping Axl with his laser beam shot.

"Axl!" Reps shouted, catching his body, "Hang in there buddy."

"Heh…you called me Axl." Axl laughed before passing out.

"That's the weak link down." Sigma laughed, pulling back his sword, "Who's next?"

Reps clenched his fists and glared hatefully at Sigma.

"Um, uh oh." Ryan murmured, "Duck and cover!"

"What the hell are you guys doing?" X shouted, seeing Dark and Ryan hit the dirt, before Zero pulled him down too, "Zero?!"

"When someone shouts that, you listen dammit!" Zero shouted, hugging the ground.

"You bastard." Reps shouted, "You're going to pay for that."

"And I suppose you're the one who's going to stop me?" Sigma chuckled, "You, who apparently isn't a real Reploid, but rather some bastardized attempt?"

"I warned you." Reps shouted, unlocking his chest plate and pressing a button, "Take this!"

Reps' form started to slowly glow as he transformed, two chains shooting into the ground as a huge cannon appeared from his chest.

"Oh shit!" Ryan shouted, "Clear the path!"

"…damn." Sigma shouted before Reps let loose and annihilated him in an overwhelmingly bright burst of light.

"That…was for Axl." Reps shouted, turning back to normal and falling down to one knee, "Shit."

"So, that pathetic shell is finally gone." Said a mysterious figure, slowly clapping, "Bravo."

"Wait a minute…who the hell are you?" Zero asked.

"Hey, it's that chick that was kidnapped!" X shouted.

"My name is Lumine and I'm a dude dammit! It's not my fault my voice is horribly inappropriate!" Lumine shouted, "Regardless, you fools are far from safe. He was merely an annoying puppet I kept around."

"So it was you that was causing all this?" Dark questioned.

"Yes, I resurrected that miserable pile of data to throw you off. What you don't realize is I'm a new breed of Reploid." Lumine explained, pointing at Axl, "The 2nd generation of your friend there, and the change chip inside me allows me to go Maverick at will!"

With that, Lumine transformed in to some strange, seraph-esque creature and sealed off all the exits.

"The hell? Does he think he's Sephiroth pulling that shit?" Ryan sighed, "Well, shall we Dark?"

"Yes, let us do such." Dark replied, doing some strange moves in sync with Ryan.

"Fusion! Wa-poh!" the two shouted, forming their fused form, Kurayami Kouki.

"Most impressive. It still won't help you though." Lumine stated, swiping at them with his wings.

"Oh come on; your wings?" Kouki stated, dodging and throwing a Keysaber through Lumine, "That's just weak."

"Fools." Lumine shouted as feathers dropped from the wings wrapped around Kouki and bound him tight, "This will be most enjoyable."

"I don't think so!" Zero shouted, laying into Lumine with his saber, "You won't be hurting anyone."

"Oh, I'd forgotten about you annoying pests." Lumine sighed, brushing Zero aside with an energy burst, "Wait your turn; others are in line ahead of you."

"Ugh…let go of us." Kouki grunted, struggling to break free, "Kouki refuses to be done in by some stupid feathers."

"Oh, the feathers aren't going to hurt you." Lumine explained, charging up, "This is!"

With that, Lumine unleashed a massive laser strike right on Kouki's position.

"Kouki!" X shouted, activating his Ultimate Armor, "Lumine! You're going to pay."

Dropping Kouki's lifeless body aside (who promptly split back into Ryan and Dark), Lumine turned her attentions to the last one still standing, X.

"You're all that's left of this pathetic little group." Lumine taunted, "Did you really think you could beat someone like me?!"

"Reploids…should not fight one another." X replied, "However, I will not allow someone such as you to ruin any attempts at peace we might have! NOVA STRIKE!"

Launching himself into the air, X flew straight through Lumine as a ball of pure energy and tore a nice little hole into him.

"Don't mock the original bitch." X panted, his tanks drained.

"This…this can't be." Lumine gasped in disbelief, "I can't be…defeated. It was a perfect plan. Perfect…"

With that, Lumine's seraph body broke to pieces and his original form fell into the rubble.

"You forgot one thing Lumine. Violence like this solves absolutely nothing; that is why you fail. That is why anyone who tries will fail." X answered, turning back to normal.

"Ugh…what happened to us?" Dark asked, waking up and shaking his head, "I feel like we really choked."

"It's okay, I got this one guys." X replied, "Hey Zero, you still alive?"

"Yeah, I'm here, I'm here." Zero answered, "What about Reps and Axl?"

"I'll be fine…I shouldn't have done that ultimate attack though." Reps coughed, "Axl looks to be okay though."

"So did we win?" Ryan asked, standing up, "It looks like we did."

Suddenly without warning, some strange tendrils flew from Lumine's body towards our heroes.

"Look out!" X shouted, jumping out of the way along with the others as they flew straight for, "Reps!"

"What?!" Reps shouted, caught off-guard, "Damn, I can't move."

Axl, having come too, knocked Reps out of the way and had his jewel impaled by the crystals before Ryan sliced them off of Lumine, who promptly exploded.

"Stupid rookie!" Reps shouted, "Why did you go and have to be a hero?"

"It seems he's been knocked unconscious again." Zero stated, picking him up, "Let's get back to HQ."

------------------------

Jakob's Ladder: Descent

"Axl seems to be stable, but he won't wake up." Dark communicated to Alia, "We're heading back now, so you might want to get a med team ready for us."

"Roger that Dark. We'll be waiting for your return." Alia replied.

"Hey guys, we won. Why do you look so depressed?" Ryan asked, "Come on, we beat the bad guys back again and this time it looks like Sigma's finally gone for real!"

"I just…we've fought yet again and all that's happened are more lives were lost pointlessly all because of a power-hungry madman." X replied with a sigh, "How can we possibly call that a victory?"

"X, I'm not sure I have a real answer for that question." Reps started, "However, we saved the world again and stopped said power-hungry madman. We've gained another chance for peace to exist…so let's hope it lasts this time."

"Heh, I don't see why you guys are getting all worked up." Zero interjected, "If anyone comes around again, we'll just beat them back. Whether we're heroes or not is irrelevant, we can't lose sight of what we're fighting for."

"You're right Zero. As long as we're together, we won't let anything stop us!" X replied, feeling much better.

"Well, we're almost at the bottom guys. Hopefully there's something that can be done for Axl." Ryan announced.

----------------------

Maverick Hunter HQ: Emergency Ward

"We've done all we can." Alia replied, "Lifesaver and his team have done all the scans they can and his signs show no abnormalities."

"That's good to hear." Reps nodded, his systems back at an operational level, "I wouldn't want the rookie outshining me after all."

"Oh, I know you Reps." Ryan chuckled, "You're worried about him more than any of us are. You've gotten attached to the kid."

"No comment." Reps grinned, shaking his head.

"Well, it seems as if all our work is done for now." Dark stated, "What I find odd is that neither the Heartless nor Nobodies showed up here at all."

"Now that you mention it that was kind of weird wasn't it?" Ryan replied, "I hope that isn't a sign of things to come."

"You don't think Sephy's coming here had anything to do with it, do you?" Reps asked.

"That's a good question." Ryan replied, "He might have. Oh well."

"Does that mean you guys are leaving us?" Layer asked.

"Well, everything seems to be in order and all the loose ends tied up." Dark answered.

"Oh." Alia softly said, "Well, I'm sure you guys will be back someday, right?"

"Don't be like that Alia." Dark sighed, "We have to go to make sure that all the other places out there are safe from Heartless influence after all."

"Like Alia, come here girl." Palette motioned, "I totally need to talk to you."

"Huh? Okay Palette." Alia nodded, "It was nice meeting you all."

'Alia.' Dark thought, 'I'm sorry.'

"Well, we'll miss you guys. It's just not the same without you around." Zero coughed, "It's only about half as exciting…or random for that matter."

"Goodness, everyone's getting emotional it seems." Ryan laughed, "Don't worry Z; I'm sure we'll meet up again. There will always be some crazy fool trying to take over all reality after all."

"X, I hope you guys can find the peace you've fought for now." Dark stated as they walked outside, "It'd be kind of nice since you seem to fight as much as us."

"Until Reploids can truly understand one another, I'm sure we'll have to continue to fight for what we believe; a peaceful future for our friends." X answered, "I may have started this all alone, but with all the allies I have, all the friends, I'm sure we can make peace a reality. Our own utopia…Elysium."

'Elysium?' Ryan thought, looking over and seeing the same look on Reps' eyes, "Hey X, promise us something."

"Hmm?" X asked, sort of confused, "What is it?"

"Be careful in the future, don't take any unnecessary risks and watch out for the others." Ryan pleaded, "And Zero, don't forget you have friends you can count on. Trust me…things'll be better if you heed what I'm saying."

"Ryan." Zero replied, "Don't worry…I know I've got friends I can count on."

"Good." Ryan nodded, "Well, we better get going guys."

"Oh, could you tell Axl something when he comes too?" Reps asked, "Let him know he's one of us now."

"I'll be sure to pass that on." X chuckled, "Don't be strangers."

"We won't guys." Dark answered back, "Later."

With that, the three of them were transported back onto their ship as Zero and X were left to ponder what would become of Axl.

"Oh, did I miss them?" asked a male Reploid in a lab coat, "I never got to say thanks to that winged fellow for helping Alia."

"You?!" X shouted, turning around and seeing him.

Meanwhile, in Axl's med room, an ominous glow pulsates from his crystal, turning the room (and Axl) an eerie shade of white…

-----------------------------

Outlaw Star

"We're finally back Gilliam." Dark announced, "Everything still okay here."

"Well, for the most part that would be true." Gilliam stated, "I intercepted an odd transmission and something beamed into the ship."

"Something beamed into the…no, don't tell me." Dark sighed, entering the cockpit and engaging the main systems.

Upon complete start up, the connection stasis tube that Reps would regularly occupy had an expected, unexpected occupant.

Dark reached down the hatch and pulled forth their stowaway.

"Huh? What's she doing here?" Ryan asked, slightly confused, "Did you have anything to do with this Dark?"

"No and I feel insulted you would insinuate anything of the sort. Still, I had a feeling you might try to tag along." Dark chuckled, "Alia."

"I'm sorry…I just; I'm so stupid." Alia communicated, "I guess I just…fell for you and when you had to leave that thought drove me crazy."

"Aren't they going to need you back at HQ?" Reps asked.

"I've got that covered thanks to Dark." Alia responded, "He helped me with something during that down time we had and well, 'he' said he'd be glad to fill in for me. I got Layer and Palette to back me up on this as well as Commander Signas, so we shouldn't have to worry about X and Zero overreacting. I'm sorry I'm being so selfish."

"Well, there's only one thing we can do then." Ryan laughed.

"You mean?" Alia asked in a hopeful tone.

"Gilliam, register Alia as part of the crew. Seeing as Reps was always complaining about being in there, Alia can take over his position and Reps can just be relegated to 2nd in command or something." Dark declared.

"Acknowledged." Gilliam responded, "Alia is now registered as our navigator and systems manager and Reps has been reassigned as co-captain. Well then, with all that under control, where to now?"

"Well, we didn't find a new path, so I suppose we should head back to Hollow Bastion to see what's up." Ryan suggested, "So, set a course for there and let's be off."

"Okay!" Alia shouted, "I may be new to this, but I can do my best!"

"That a girl." Dark chuckled, "Let's just hope nothing goes wrong on the way there."

----------------------

"Curses! They weren't where they were supposed to be. Of course, you weren't any help at all!" shouted a familiar one-winged man, "And you dared to pretend to be my brother."

"As you recall, Sephiroth..." Replied a hooded man, "It was not I who did such, but that other being who was and, at the same time, wasn't me."

"I'm not sure why you're even here. I don't need your so-called assistance you miserable pile of secrets." Sephiroth shouted back, "Go back to your other empty shells and let me take care of my objective! Get in my way and I will not hesitate to finish all of you off! The boy shall be mine to take care of!"

"Suit yourself Sephiroth, you have been warned." The hood figure stated mysteriously before vanishing in a poof of darkness.

"Those damn creatures are a nuisance. They seek to use my Heartless!? Heh…well, let them have their fun. In the end, I will have all that I desire. Those fools stand nary a chance." Sephiroth shouted, before letting loose a boom of evil laughter echoing the halls of his hideout.

'Damn, the boss sure is touchy when he's being evil.' Boldo thought to himself, watching for any signals of those Sephiroth seeked.

------------------------

Hollow Bastion: Study

Yoshi sat; pouring over an intriguing set of data he had uncovered involving a certain fellow.

All of a sudden, he detected an oddly familiar presence and a smile slowly crept over his face.

"So, you're here then." Yoshi stated, "Does that mean that?"

"Correct." Replied a short, hooded figure walking towards his location, "Time is almost up. Soon…they will be connected."

"Do you think they'll get along?" Yoshi asked, "They may both have similarities being who they are, but, still…"

"For our sakes, let's hope they do." Answered the figure, "They'll need to if we are to have any chance of restoring the natural order."

'Ryan, Dark.' Thought Yoshi, 'Don't let your emotions overcome you.'


	6. SD

**DDR HEARTS 2: S.D.**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

--------------------------------

Somewhere in space

"Is he still asleep?" Ryan yawned, stretching and grabbing something to drink, "I swear, ever since he transformed, he's been sleeping more and more. I wonder if he's okay."

"I wouldn't worry about him too much." Reps replied, flopped out on the couch, "Think about it, that transformation probably takes a lot to get used to; didn't you have trouble at first when you got a lot of your powers?"

"True…" Ryan nodded, "Still…I think he's just using it to get sympathy."

"Dark? Never." Reps chuckled, "Hey, where'd Alia sneak off to?"

"It would appear she went to wake him…at least, that's what she told me an hour ago." Gilliam interjected, "Shall I see what's taking them?"

"No, don't bother; she'll get him up here soon enough." Ryan answered.

"Come on lazy head, time to get up." Alia chuckled, nudging Dark, "We'll be back with your friends soon; you don't want to look bad in front of them."

"Five more minutes…" Dark moaned, rolling over in bed.

"Tsk, okay…I'll go make you something to eat; perhaps that will get you motivated." Alia laughed, leaving his room.

"Crazy females…" Dark yawned and closed his eyes…

Without warning, the klaxon alarms blared as Dark shot awake.

"The hell's going on?" Dark sighed, "No bloody peace at all."

Stretching, Dark hopped out of bed and walked into the cockpit, eager to find out what disturbed his rest.

"Get ready for battle, because it looks like we're coming up on something big." Ryan answered, "Look, there it is now."

Floating by was the wreckage of what appeared to be some type of space station.

"That's odd…I've never seen a space station in that design…" Alia responded, scanning the area, "Wait…I'm picking up organic beings as well."

"I can see remains…" Dark sighed, "People were in there when this thing went up…a lot of people."

"I'm detecting a faint energy source near here." Gilliam added, "It would seem that whoever did this hasn't gotten far."

"Well, what should we do?" Reps asked, "It's not really our part to get involved in this but…"

"Gilliam, head for that energy source but keep a distance. I want to see what we're dealing with first." Ryan ordered.

"Compliance." Gilliam stated, turning the ship and blasting off.

------------------------------------

Earth (?) Orbit

"We have reached the very outskirts of the battle." Gilliam responded.

"I'm picking up about six separate energy signatures in addition to two larger ones; I'd wager those are battleships of some kind and then the smaller ones are fighters." Alia explained.

"Can you get a picture of any of it from here?" Dark asked.

"I'll try…there. I'll bring it up on screen." Alia stated, displaying the image.

"It's a GUNDAM!" Dark shouted, "I've always wanted to say that."

"This isn't the time for this." Ryan sighed.

"The question is, are they the good guys?" Reps asked, "It's a valid question…GUNDAMs aren't always piloted by the "good" guys."

"We don't need to worry. I recognize that one; the RX-78-2 GUNDAM." Ryan answered, "Piloted by Amuro Ray for the Earth Federation against the Principality of Zeon…but it looks weird."

"Well, that's all I needed." Dark shouted, turning on his force-field, "Let's save the day!"

"Amuro! Watch out!" shouted a blonde-haired girl from a white battleship.

"Don't worry Sayla, I see them." Amuro responded, taking aim at a green mobile suit and firing.

"Watch out you fools." Came a commanding voice from a red version of the suits, "That Federation mobile suit is a monster."

"Commander Char, what should we do?" asked his subordinate.

"I don't know; wait…try to draw his fire so he'll get pulled into the Earth's atmosphere. They'll try to get away to Earth and we can't let that happen." Char commanded.

"Commander! I'm picking up three new boogies on radar! They just came out of nowhere!" replied his subordinate.

"Here comes the calvary!" Ryan shouted, dashing by and slicing the arms off of the green suit, "Figures…they don't build Zaku-II's like they used to."

"What the hell?" Char shouted, "What are they? Are they from the Federation?"

"Sayla, what's going on?" Amuro asked, confused.

"I'm not sure. I don't have any records on what or who they are." Sayla responded, "Commander Bright, what do we do?"

"Based on their actions, I'd wager we just got some unexpected help." Bright replied, "Quickly, while their distracting them, we need to hurry and get to Earth."

"Are you sure about that commander?" Amuro asked, "We can't just leave them like this…can we?"

"Don't worry, we'll handle this." Dark replied, parrying Char's attacks, "Just get going!"

"Roger…White Base, I'm coming back." Amuro replied, returning to the white battleship.

"Damn, we can't do anything to stop them now." Char stated, tossing a Zaku grenade at Dark and blinding him.

"Ugh, I can't see!" Dark shouted, before Char knocked him out with the butt of his heat axe, "Ooooh…"

'This one may be worth studying.' Char thought, dragging him back to his battleship the Chivvy.

"Dark!" Ryan shouted, seeing him being dragged away, "Come back here with my brother!"

Ryan couldn't break through the remaining Zaku's and started getting worried about being pulled into Earth's atmosphere.

"Don't be so careless!" Reps chided, blasting away the Zaku's and pulling Ryan away from danger, "We'll get Dark back…he'll be able to take care of himself."

Looking at the Earth, Reps could see White Base breaking through the atmosphere.

"Alia, bring the ship around and lock onto that ship's signal; we're going to find out what's going on." Reps communicated.

"Commander Char, what is that thing?" stated his subordinate, gesturing at Dark's limp body.

"I believe he may be our way to winning this war." Char stated, "Make sure he's locked down in case he wakes up; I don't want any surprises."

-----------------------------------

Earth's surface

"Okay, Alia said she traced the signal to this desert region…So where are they?" Ryan asked, looking around for the mysterious white ship.

"I think that's it in the distance." Reps pointed, "I think it is them; Heads up, seems something just launched from it."

Standing their ground, they noticed White Base hold its position as two figures headed their way.

"Any idea who it is?" Ryan asked.

"Well, I believe one is that GUNDAM you mentioned and the other one seems to be some type of fighter of some kind. Here they come." Reps answered.

"I wondered if we would run in to you guys again." Amuro stated from his cockpit, "You guys sure showed up at a good time…I'm glad to see you made it."

"Well, we couldn't let you get vaporized in the atmosphere." Ryan chuckled, "I'm surprised you trusted us so quickly."

"Our commander, Bright Noa, seemed a bit uneasy himself, but realized that if you were with the Principality forces, you wouldn't have thought twice of demolishing us." Sayla explained, "Though he is confused; he's unsure of what type of model machines you're piloting."

"Piloting? What are you talking about?" Reps asked, raising an eyebrow, "We aren't piloting anything. We're us…I'm missing something aren't I?"

"Wait…you can't be serious, can you?" Amuro asked, "No, then that would mean…"

"Guys, what's going on? We know you're SDs; I could tell right away from your looks." Ryan explained, "So what aren't you telling us?"

"Commander, we have a situation." Sayla stated over her communicator.

"What is it Sayla? Do we need to intervene?" Bright responded.

"No, but you should probably get over here…you'll need to see this." Sayla stated, a bit disoriented.

"Guys…tell us what's wrong?" Reps asked.

Hearing a hissing noise, Reps saw the RX-78's chest plate fly open and out stepped Amuro, SD and quite short.

"Uh…what?" Ryan asked, "Um…I can't say I expected that. SD Gundams piloted by SD, really small people?"

"This is so awkward." Amuro sighed, "Hopefully Bright can help solve things."

Some distance away, Dark was finally coming to in the suit bay of the Chivvy.

"Goodness, where am I? Who am I? What am I? Why am I?" Dark shouted, not noticing the small group standing near him, "Oh, hello tiny people…wait a tick…tiny people? What's going on here?"

"Ah, you're awake. I was starting to think you wouldn't recover." Char replied, "Do you recall what happened?"

"Not really…I just remember getting hit really hard and then…something about my brother." Dark mumbled, "I don't really recall a lot."

"Ah…that's to be expected after all." Char replied, "Your brother did hit you pretty hard back there; we were lucky to get away from him and his forces."

"I see then." Dark said, "Well, why don't you catch me up then?"

"Very well." Char answered, "We of the Principality of Zeon have been fighting the Earth Federation for a long time now all to gain our independence; the war was at a stalemate till you and your friends showed up."

"It's fuzzy, but you're sort of making sense." Dark sighed, rubbing his head.

"Yes, your brother and his friends sided with the Federation, but you chose to side with us given your feelings on the Federation's oppression." Char added, "As of now, we're heading towards the Odessa base to resupply and prepare for the coming attack."

"An attack?" Dark asked, "My brother…"

"Yes…he will most likely be there, so we need to be prepared." Char answered, "With both that white suit and them, we need all the help we can get."

'Brother…' Dark thought as he felt the ship heave and then land.

--------------------------------------

White Base: Hanger Bay

"Let me welcome you to the White Base, though I wish it could be under less bizarre circumstance." Bright Noa greeted, "So, um, this is certainly an odd situation isn't it?"

"Heh, that's an understatement." Ryan chuckled, "This is all so weird."

"So, from what you've told us, you aren't some new type of mobile suit and are actually, well, really tall people?" Sayla asked, "How could that be?'

"Well…it's complicated, but you don't need to worry about us." Reps replied, "We're here to help."

"I think we should keep this contained for now." Amuro suggested, "Given things, the higher ups may not respond as positively as we have."

"Agreed…though I must ask if you can help us with our new orders." Bright pleaded, "We could use all the help we can muster…"

An undisclosed amount of time later…

"Okay, so from what you've told me, this offensive could potentially destroy this Zeon group's largest Earth base?" Ryan questioned, "That's a bit ambitious."

"True, but if we can drive Zeon forces away from here then it would be a huge blow to them." Bright answered, "Will you help?"

"If you can help us get Dark back, then we'll give you any help you need." Ryan stated, "Those Zeon bastards will pay for taking my brother."

--------------------------------------

Odessa Base

"It's quiet." Dark murmured, his Keysaber humming in the silence, "It's unsettling."

"Don't worry; based on the frequency of the scouts we've intercepted, the big show should begin soon." Char replied, "You just take care of your brother while we handle the others."

"You needn't worry about Ryan; he'll have his hands full with me." Dark grinned, "I can sense him…he's close."

'Could he be a newtype?' Char thought as he too felt a familiar twinge, 'Amuro…'

On the horizon, White Base held its position as its mobile suits readied for launch.

"He's there…but something seems wrong." Ryan commented, readying his Keysaber, "Stay on your toes everyone."

"Like I need you to tell me that!" Amuro shouted, "This is Gundam, I'm launching!"

"This is Reps, I'm launching." Reps shouted, jetting out the launch bay.

'Dark…' Ryan thought as he launched, 'What are you up to?'

Landing, the Federation forces from White Base didn't waste time decimating the Zeon forces posted around the perimeter of the Odessa base.

"All these Zaku's and Dom's…where's Dark at?!" Ryan shouted, viciously tearing a Dom to shreds.

"You need to calm down." Reps suggested, noting Ryan's perturbed state of mind, "He'll show up soon enough."

"We're getting a new signal." Bright stated, "Two signals…one's a Zaku, but we can't make out what the other one is."

"Char!" Amuro shouted, seeing the red Zaku come into view.

"Heh, the white mobile suit." Char chuckled, "Well then, this will be more fun that I thought."

"Don't forget about me." Dark added, landing next to Char, "Brother! Think this over, you know how corrupt the Federation will get if they win!"

"And you know the Federation has to win! Zeon's ways won't lead to any type of peace!" Ryan shouted back, "What's gotten in to you?"

"The truth!" Dark shouted, dashing towards Ryan and knocking him backwards before chasing after him.

"Ryan!" Reps shouted, going for an assist before he felt something coil around him and pull him down, "Ack! What the hell? I haven't seen that suit before."

"This is no Zaku boy, no Zaku!" shouted a blue mobile suit, before electrocuting Reps, "You've got me to deal with."

"Ugh…dammit!" Reps shouted, struggling to break free.

"What are you doing this for?" Ryan questioned, parrying Dark's attacks, "What happened to you?"

"My eyes were opened to the truth." Dark shouted, flinging his Keysaber at Ryan who knocked it back, "Why can't you see that?"

"Ugh." Ryan grunted, barely able to stay off his attacks, "This is madness…you've lost your mind."

"Have I?" Dark asked, dashing at Ryan and bringing his Keysaber down on him.

"Yes you have!" Ryan shouted, holding off his attack, "What could make you want to side with them?"

"Information." Dark replied, shoving Ryan to the ground and staring at him.

"Information…?" Ryan asked, dazed and unable to see straight.

"Turnip." Dark answered, before flying off to assist Char, leaving Ryan with a slight grin on his face before passing out.

Meanwhile, Reps had his hands full with the blue mobile suit.

"That's Zeon's newest land based mobile suit, MS-07B Gouf." Sayla relayed, "Watch out for that Heat Rod."

"Tell me about it." Reps sighed, busting free of the whip's grip and jumping back, "So I guess sneak attacks are all Zeon is good for, eh?'

"Heh, you got some bark to you boy. My name's Ramba Ral." Ral stated, "And if that's all you've got then you can't beat me."

"Heh…heh…heh…" Reps chuckled, powering up, "I wonder...how well can that thing hold up to an EMP?"

"You fool; you'd destroy yourself to defeat me?" Ral asked.

"Who said anything about destroying myself?" Reps chuckled, forming his arm into a blaster, "Show me some sizzle."

"Sizzle?" Ral questioned before being hit by Reps' overcharged EMP, "You can't stop me boy…you only won because of that suit, nothing else."

"Suit?" Reps laughed, "I'm more than a machine."

With that, Ral's mobile suit sizzled, sparked, and then fell over comically as it shorted out.

"Well, that was rather..." Reps started before it exploded unexpectedly, "…unspectacular…right."

As Ryan came too, he saw that things were quiet now; there was no sign of battle.

"Is it over? Did we win?" Ryan coughed, standing up and dusting himself off.

"About time you woke up." Reps sighed, "You missed all the fun."

"Oh, well, I'm sure you guys handled it well." Ryan grinned, "We're the others at?"

"They're resupplying so I told them we'd wait to hear from them, help minimize confusion at the moment." Reps explained.

"Can you hear me Reps?" Bright asked, "We've finished resupplying and have our orders to head for Federation headquarters at Jaburo, so head back."

"Gotcha, we're on our way." Reps replied, "Well, shall we?"

----------------------------------------

Somewhere over Brazil

"I can't believe we lost." Dark muttered, "And I didn't get anything from fighting my brother."

"Don't worry my friend; thanks to that tracker you slipped onto your brother we've been given a direct line to the Federation's headquarters." Char replied, trying to calm him, "Soon we can strike right at the heart of their corrupt government and deal them a crippling blow."

"Perhaps…" Dark mumbled.

"You aren't beginning to have doubts now, are you?" Char asked, eyeing Dark curiously.

"No, I just…something doesn't seem right I suppose." Dark sighed, "Anyway, you said Jaburo is near, right?"

"Yes, my Z-Gok mobile suit should be arriving soon and then we'll lead a sneak attack through one of their underground river channels." Char explained.

"Okay…let me know when it's time then, I'm going to take a nap." Dark said, closing his eyes.

'Hmmm…' Char thought, walking off, 'I'd better keep a closer eye on him.'

"So they want us to head to Jaburo?" Amuro asked, "Do you think Zeon is going to try an assault of some kind?"

"Doubtful." Bright answered, "They'd have to know the exact whereabouts and that's a highly guarded secret."

"If I may interject, what are we going to do about us when we get there?" Ryan questioned, "We don't exactly fit in…"

"Well, we'll think of something, right?" Sayla suggested, laughing nervously.

"I hope so…I may pass for a robot, but I don't know if Ryan can." Reps stated, "So we'll think of something before we get there…"

"I really don't think they'll buy this." Ryan sighed, standing still along with a number of other mobile suits.

"They won't if you keep talking." Reps whispered to him, "Quiet, here they come."

"I must say, you have amassed a formidable mobile suit force." Stated a red-haired woman in a brown suit, "Odd…I don't recall anything about those two though."

"Well, Ensign Matilda, those two are an oddity." Bright explained, "We recovered those two along with the Gundam at Side 7."

"I see." Matilda answered, "They definitely look unlike any mobile suit I've read about."

'Matilda? She shouldn't be here.' Ryan thought to himself, 'What's going on?'

"I think they just look too damn weird." Stated a blonde-haired man.

'Who the hell is he calling weird?' Reps thought, groaning.

"Did that…suit just make a noise on its own?" Matilda asked, "You heard that too, right Sleggar?"

"I think you're just hearing things." Sleggar replied, "Regardless, I don't think we really need those, given that with my support you won't need them."

'That arrogant dork is joining us?' Ryan thought with a sigh, seeing Matilda look at him again, 'Oops.'

"You go ahead Commander Bright, Sleggar; I'd like to look over your suits before preparing to move out." Matilda stated, walking towards Ryan.

"Very well." Bright responded as he and Sleggar walked off.

"Heh, Sleggar may've been fooled, but I'm not." Matilda chuckled, looking up at his face, "You can drop the act you know?"

"What act?" Ryan responded, before realizing he just got tricked, "Dammit."

"I knew it; what are you two?" Matilda asked, "You definitely aren't mobile suits."

"Well…" Ryan started, "…and that's it."

"I see…well, I think you for the help you've given to White Base." Matilda said, winking at Ryan, "Let's hope you help me if I ever need it."

"Um…uh…sure." Ryan fumbled with his words seeing her walk away.

"Hey, is that Amuro over there?" Reps asked, pointing to the catwalk across the hangar.

"It is…oh, I get it now." Ryan chuckled, "Don't worry Amuro, I won't tell anyone."

Amuro, hearing this and quick to deny it, ran across the catwalk over towards Ryan.

"I have no idea what you're talking about!" Amuro quickly stated.

"Oh come now, I see it; you like Matilda." Ryan laughed, "And you got all jealous when she gave me that look."

"…" Amuro just stared at the floor.

"Don't worry; I won't get in the way." Ryan explained, "Just keep an eye on her; I have a feeling she may need help someday."

"What makes you say that?" Amuro responded back.

"Just trust me." Ryan stated, before hearing the sirens go off, "What the hell?"

"We're under attack!" Bright shouted over the com system, "Get in your suits and get ready to launch!"

"Finally, some action!" Reps shouted, jumping up and readying himself.

"Ugh…all this creeping around in the water." Dark grunted, "I feel like crap."

"Patience my friend, we've almost infiltrated their headquarters." Char responded from his Z-Gok, "We should be there any second, and then you can get your fill of fighting."

'You don't know the half of it.' Dark thought with a grin, seeing a light coming from the coming bushes.

"ACGUY squads, commence assault!" Char shouted, his Z-Gok giving the symbol.

"What the hell?" Ryan shouted, "The mole people! They're attacking!"

"Those are ACGUY's you moron." Amuro sighed, "And that red one; it has to be Char!"

"Which means…there you are brother." Ryan calmly stated, dashing over to strike him down, "TURNIP!!!"

"…"; all the mobile suits facefaulting.

"I have no idea what that was about." Char sighed, "Either way, you're mine Amuro!"

"Dark!" Ryan shouted, pushing back his attack, "Stop this dammit!"

"Heh, I won't stop until I'm satisfied." Dark calmly replied, powering up and attack, "Take this!"

"Fine!" Ryan shouted, powering up his own attack and firing at Dark's, the two energies clashing at one another.

Meanwhile, Amuro had his hands full with Char.

"I won't let you get away this time." Amuro shouted, dashing at Char's Z-Gok with his beam saber.

"Heh, as simple minded as always." Char replied, sidestepping the attack, "Regardless, I think the time has come to make my getaway in this chaos. Farewell."

With that, Char threw on his Z-Gok's jump jets and started to dash away.

"Oh no you don't!" Amuro shouted, giving chase, before being knocked into and back by a huge mobile suit.

"Allow me the honor of taking him down sir!" shouted a Zock pilot who fired upon Amuro.

"As you wish." Char stated, before making his way further into the base.

"You bastard!" Amuro shouted, plowing his beam saber straight through the Zock, which promptly exploded, "Damn it…he got away."

"Are you…ready…to give up?" Ryan panted, worn out from his battle with Dark.

"Heh….you really are something, you know?" Dark chuckled, "Okay, I'm done."

"About damn time…what the hell was all that about?" Ryan sighed, "You know how hard it is to make it look real?"

"I know, I know; anyway, it looks like Char got away, but I know where we need to strike." Dark chuckled, "So, um, shall we go mop them up?"

"Sure; I could always use some target practice." Ryan agreed, dashing off with his brother to take down the remaining Zeon troops.

Afterwards…

"Oh great…we've got another one." Amuro sighed.

"Hey, what's his problem?" Dark questioned, "Someone hit on his girlfriend or something?"

"Hahahahah!" Reps laughed, "That's close."

"This is all so bizarre." Dark sighed, "We should probably finish this as soon as possible…I'm kind of tired of this plotline."

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, but we'll keep an eye on you for a while." Bright stated, "Ryan's word can have some pull with me, but well…you did fight against us for a while there."

"Understood; one condition though." Dark chuckled, pointing at Sayla, "That blonde cutie is the one to watch over me."

"Oh God, not again." Ryan sighed, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay…it could be worse." Sayla sighed.

"Well, then let's check for casualties and damages and then get repaired." Bright explained, "The Federation Forces are taking the fight to space."

---------------------------------------

Solomon Space

"So we're fighting on this hunk of rock?" Dark sighed, "Any suggestions?"

"Don't die?" Reps chuckled, "Hey, it's a suggestion."

"Will you two morons stop goofing around and get ready; this is a war after all." Amuro grumbled.

"You and your war game." Ryan laughed, "Well, let's get out there! Launching!"

"You got my back cutie?" Dark laughed, riding on Sayla's G-Fighter.

"You don't stop do you?" Sayla sighed, "Just stay frosty."

"Doesn't seem to be much here." Ryan stated, "Just some Zaku's and Rick-Doms; no real big targets."

"We're getting a large reading on the radar." Bright informed, "Whatever it is, it's monstrous."

"Ready? I'm launching." Came a gruff voice, "See? Once the Big Zam is mass-produced, the Federation will be obliterated in no time."

"Who the hell was that?" Dark queried.

"Dozle Zabi of the Zabi family." Sayla answered him, "He's one of the members controlling the Principality."

"Okay, so where is he and what did he mean by Big Zam?" Reps questioned, feeling a thud, "What the?"

"The Federation cannot defeat me!" Dozle shouted, as his Big Zam landed on Solomon.

"That's the Big Zam?" Dark laughed, "I've got bigger things in my pants."

"For God's sake, can we please leave that out of this for once?" Ryan pleaded.

"Heh, it would seem that Lt. Commander Char's reports of mobile suit sized people were correct." Dozle commented, "Pity you had to join the Federation, you would've been useful assets."

"Forget all this; godmod time!" Dark shouted, jumping high into the air and spreading his wings, "Eat this: Light Force Attack!"

A huge burst of energy flew forth from Dark, aimed right at the Big Zam.

"What is this power?" Dozle shouted, "It's overloading the shield; that's not possible. The Big Zam is supposed to be undefeatable…undefeatable!"

Taking aim at Dark, Dozle fired back with the Big Zam's Mega Particle Cannon.

"For the glory of Zeon, for my own pride; you won't defeat! You will not defeat me!" Dozle shouted.

"Like I'd let someone like you beat me!" Dark shouted, going super and pouring on the power, "Die!"

"Arrrrrgh!" Dozle shouted, as the Big Zam vaporized from Dark's blast and vanished from sight.

"You just couldn't help it could you?" Ryan sighed, "Okay, we're coming back."

------------------------------------------------

A Baoa Qu Space

"You know, something feels weird here." Dark stated, "Everything seems to be coming in jumps…almost like when the author tries to just jump through plot points to move forward; yet, I don't think he's doing it."

"How do you figure?" Ryan asked back.

"Well, we just seemed to skip around without covering some plot points that developed the other characters and I don't seem to really recall how White Base got to this point." Dark explained, "Plus you said that someone was alive who should've died based on what you said you know about Gundam."

"Wait, I'm confused." Reps interjected, "So, are we conscious of the places we visit and thus know about them or do we not know and it's all new to us? Or do we feign ignorance? That's always confused me."

"I think it's a bit of 50-50." Ryan explained, "It's left a little ambiguous to throw off the fans."

"Well, now that you've said it, won't they look at everything to figure that out?" Reps explained.

"You say that as if they're still reading." Dark laughed, "Anyway, let's finish this fight."

"Is it just me or does their forces seem kind of laxed?" Dark sighed, floating around the outside perimeter.

"Maybe that Gihren fellow overestimated his available forces?" Reps suggested.

"Do you guys ever stop chattering?" Amuro grumbled, "You've got to keep an eye out; Char's here somewhere."

"You and Char…is that all you think about?" Ryan questioned, seeing some enemy suits coming into view.

"You…wouldn't understand." Amuro responded, taking off in another direction, "I'm going after Char, you can take these guys on."

"Jeez…thanks for the backup Amuro!" Ryan shouted, miffed at him running off again, "How many do you think we're looking at?"

"Probably about 100 suits…we shouldn't have trouble." Reps chuckled, "Let's go!"

"…it just happened again." Dark murmured, "Where the hell am I now?"

"Mayday! We're going down! We'll have to land inside A Baoa Qu!" Bright shouted over the com.

"What? How the hell did that happen?" Dark grumbled, "And how did I get inside A Baoa Qu?"

"Those Gaza Cs don't look too pleased with us being here; let's clear them out so White Base can land." Ryan stated, flinging his Keysaber at the incoming Zeon suits.

"Wait…Gaza Cs? But those don't get developed until the Zeta timeline." Dark sputtered, "What the fck is going on?"

"This hand of mine is burning red; it tells me to defeat you!" shouted a familiar voice.

"Domon? He doesn't even belong in this reality!" Dark sighed, "Wait…I know what's going on now…the bizarre time jumping, the nonsensical timeline, the poorly crafted word usage and structure…it all points to one thing…"

------------------------------------------------

Outlaw Star

"For crying out loud!" Alia shouted, "Get up Dark! This isn't the time to be sleeping!"

Dark shook his head and heard the klaxons going off as he cleared his mind and got out of bed.

"Alia? What happened to Amuro? And White Base?" Dark mumbled, still half-asleep.

"What? What is any of that?" Alia sighed, "Look, get dressed; something bad is going down."

"Is sleeping beauty finally awake?" Ryan groaned, trying to steer the ship.

"I think I got to him; have you regained control?" Alia answered, taking her place in the cockpit.

"I'm awake." Dark growled, "What happened? I thought we were heading back to Hollow Bastion?"

"We were…until something appeared out of nowhere on the radar and messed with our sensors." Reps explained.

"It appears we're being drawn towards a nearby planet; my sensors indicate it's inhabitable but no other info is available." Gilliam explained, "I suggest bracing for impact and preparing for whatever wants us down there."

"Very well, everyone strap in and hold on tight." Ryan commanded, "I don't know who we'll find down there, but we won't go down without a fight."


	7. DistorteD

**DDR HEARTS 2: DistorteD**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

Unknown Planet

"Shit, we just entered the atmosphere! Everyone strap in!" Ryan shouted, attempting to level out the Outlaw Star.

"We're all strapped in." Alia responded, "I'm unable to figure out why we can't regain control."

"I'm afraid I have not detected the source of the problem either." Gilliam added, "It would appear I'm going to get scuffed up again."

"Hold on tight, we're going in rough!" Ryan stated, seeing the ground rushing towards them, "Argh!"

With a mighty thud and crash, the Outlaw Star bounced a bit before skidding along the ground, pushing dirt and trees aside as it skidded to a stop.

"Oh thank god." Dark sighed, "Is everyone alright?"

"Systems seem nominal." Gilliam responded, "The atmosphere outside appears breathable as well, so repairs shouldn't be too much of a problem."

"I'm okay." Alia answered, stepping out of her control tube, "I still can't figure out why we lost control."

"I'm sure we'll figure out soon enough." Reps coughed, spitting up some oil, "Ick…I think I'd better go examine myself."

"Okay, I'll start working on some repairs; Dark, give me a hand, and Alia, see if you and Gilliam can't pinpoint anything that we could blame this on." Ryan commanded before heading outside.

"He certainly takes control when he wants to, doesn't he?" Gilliam quipped before running a full scan.

Outside, the damage looked worse than it actually was.

"That's good; it's mostly structural so we can just patch it up till we get to the others." Dark commented, "Cid should be able to help us get it back to normal then."

"Well, I still wish we didn't crash land again; last time we got lucky I suppose, that nothing hostile was around." Ryan joked, sighing.

"Well, so you say." Dark quipped, "It's not like I enjoyed outrunning them so we could get away."

"Anyway, I hope Reps is okay." Ryan stated, pounding out some dents in the armor, "He seemed a bit more damaged than he let on."

Later that night, Alia was cooking up some dinner for them while Reps was resting on the couch.

"You gonna be okay buddy?" Ryan asked, seeing Reps look a little out of sorts.

"Yeah, I just got flung up a little bit in the crash." Reps answered, "I just need to rest and let my body repair itself."

"Dinner's ready boys." Alia shouted, "Come on Dark, you can take a break from training."

"Not really." Dark sighed, entering from outside, "I need to learn how to use my new body correctly; otherwise I could become a liability."

"I know, but if you don't eat you'll just get worse than you would be." Alia replied, "Now let's eat guys and we can continue tomorrow morning."

After having a delicious meal and joking around, the group retired to their bedrooms for the night, unaware that something else was soon to join them.

Around six am the next morning, a huge burst of light lit up the sky as something else rocketed through the atmosphere much like the Outlaw Star had.

"The sun's up already?" Ryan groaned, rolling out of bed, "Stupid non-daylight savings time."

Getting dressed and heading outside to start working before the others woke up; Ryan noticed the ball of light careening through the sky.

"There's something you don't see everyday." Ryan quipped before he saw it crash some distance away from him, "I'd better go wake up the others…"

"So what do you think it is?" Reps asked, speeding through the forest with the others.

"Maybe it's some other poor soul that got yanked down here like us." Dark answered, "I just hope whoever it is is friendly."

Ryan soon motioned for the others to be quiet and slow down as he creeped closer to an outcropping where the ball of light had hit.

"Let's listen and see what we're dealing with before we just show ourselves." Ryan whispered, "I don't want anymore surprises."

Down below, Ryan could make out three voices; two of them sounded normal but the third voice was hard to make out as whoever it was had one hell of an accent.

"I told you to watch out for that asteroid." Said a human voice, "This is why I don't let you fly."

"Gawrsh, don't you think ya'll are being too hard on him?" said the second voice, having a bit of a southern drawl to his speech.

"Why you, I oughta…" the final voice started before just trailing off into undecipherable words.

"Well, they sound harmless." Reps whispered, "Let's go see if we can help them and maybe they can help us."

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Dark commented as the three of them walked down the hill.

"Hey!" Ryan shouted to get their attention before deadpanning as the three figures turned around, "YOU!"

"Who are you guys? And what's with the look?" said a human in his teens with spiky brown hair.

"ARGH!" Ryan shouted, "You bastard! You stole all of it!"

'This won't turn out well.' Dark sighed, seeing Ryan launch himself at the spiky**-**haired teen.

"Whoa, what's your deal?" the teen asked, blocking Ryan's attack, "Wait…I recognize that design; you have a Keyblade!"

Meanwhile, Reps and Dark met with the teen's compatriots and were trying to hash things out.

"While those two get acquainted, let's introduce ourselves." Dark started, "My name is Darkness Shade."

"My name is Donald Duck!" Donald replied.

"That's one thick accent you've got bud." Reps laughed, "I'm Reps."

"And the name's Goofy. Ha-yuck." Goofy replied, "What's with your buddy over there? He seems to not like Sora too much."

"There's some…animosity to be sure." Dark quipped, "It's a long story."

"Answer me! Why do you have a Keyblade?" Sora asked, knocking Ryan back and taking a defensive stance.

"I've always wanted to take you on you freaking copycat." Ryan grinned, "Squenix screwed me out of a lot of royalties when they completely changed the story I sold them about my adventures."

"Squenix?" Sora asked, "Who the hell is that?"

"Enough!" Ryan shouted, "I was the chosen one to begin with, not you!"

With that, Ryan lunged at Sora unleashing devastating blows in an attempt to take out his copy cat.

"You've flipped your lid dude." Sora shouted, tossing his Keyblade at Ryan and landing a hit, "Not so tough are you?"

"That's enough." Ryan murmured, apparently vanishing from sight.

"Where the hell did he go?" Sora shouted, looking around and then straight up, "How did he get up there?"

"Take this!" Ryan shouted, holding up his palms and forming an energy ball, before tossing it at Sora.

"Dude, calm down!" Sora shouted, struggling to hold it back and then knocking it away before getting punched in the gut by Ryan, "Ugh!"

"Shouldn't we step in?" Goofy asked, "He looks like he's going to kill him."

"Oh don't worry; they're both main characters so they won't die." Dark reassured him, "Just let Ryan work out his anger."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Donald asked.

"Look, just stop talking; the English language is bastardized enough without you running all over it." Reps sighed.

"Is that all you've got?" Sora chuckled, pulling himself up off the ground.

"Heh, not bad; it's been a while since someone could go toe to toe with me." Ryan chuckled, "Are you sure you want some more though?"

"Heh…don't worry. I've still got an ace or two in the hole." Sora shouted, "Ultima!"

'A Limit Break, eh?' Ryan thought, 'I won't be done in by that.'

With blazing speed, Sora dashed at Ryan and landed a sequence of blows that knocked our hero for a loop or two.

"Heh, not too bad**,** faker." Ryan panted, "But can you do this?"

Throwing out his left arm, Ryan summoned forth another of his Keysabers and spun them around before smacking Sora backwards.

"You…you can dual-wield?" Sora gasped in disbelief.

"You bet your ass**,** baby!" Ryan shouted, spinning them in circles, "Come and get some!"

"Heh…two can play that." Sora chuckled as Ryan dashed towards him, "Give me strength!"

"Gawrsh!" Goofy shouted as he vanished from sight, his power fusing with Sora's.

"You may be brave, but I've got valor!" Sora shouted, spinning his own dual Keyblades.

"Oh my God, that joke was terrible!" Ryan sighed, shaking his head.

"Wrong move." Sora quipped, dashing at Ryan and laying in to him with a multitude of swipes, before charging up and smacking him into the ground.

"Ow…you know, I'm almost worried." Ryan chuckled, "Dark! He wants a fight, he'll get a fight!"

"You got it! Fusion Wa-poh!" Dark shouted along with Ryan as they fused into Kurayami Kouki.

"You can fuse too?" Sora gasped, "That still won't help you!"

"Heh, we've heard that one before." Kouki chuckled, spinning his Keysabers at his sides, "Rolling Hell Wheels!"

Sora barely had time to react as he batted away Kouki's Keysabers and dashed towards him with a feral scream.

"Rawr!" Kouki shouted, dashing towards Sora**,** and just as it looked as if they were to collide…

"What the hell do you boys think you're doing?" Shouted a very pissed off**-**looking Alia.

At this**,** both Sora and Kouki lost their concentration, plowed into the ground, and split back into their normal forms.

"See?" Reps quipped, "I knew something would come along and stop this."

"I said I was sorry like a thousand times." Ryan sighed, "What do you want from me woman?"

"Do you know how stupid that was?" Alia shouted, chewing him out, "All of you; you're supposed to be the good guys and you're in-fighting?"

"But…but…" Ryan attempted to explain, "Copycat…"

"So what? It's not like this is the first time things have gone wrong for you, right?" Alia continued, "As for you other four, you're supposed to be their allies and you didn't do anything to stop this. How could you be so shameful?"

"Well gosh Ms. Alia, that Dark fellow said it'd be best to let him work it out of his system." Goofy explained, "We didn't think it'd get out of hand so fast."

"Come on hon, we all made up; why are you still so upset?" Dark asked.

"You all could've really hurt each other over some stupid petty thing." Alia sighed, "Could you really have lived with yourselves if that happened?"

At this the group of heroes grew silent and realized that they did indeed act very stupid.

"Look, we got off on the wrong foot but, I'm Ryan." Ryan stated, offering Sora his hand.

"And I'm Sora." Sora replied, taking his hand and shaking it, "So, do you know why the hell we're here?"

After some brief explanations as to what had happened, the small band of heroes set about fixing the Outlaw Star and helping stow the remains of Sora's Gummi ship.

"It's a mess but I bet I know someone who could fix it." Ryan quipped.

"You must be talking about Cid." Sora laughed, "That guy's pretty nuts when it comes to fixing stuff."

"I'm still confused though." Dark butted in, "If we know about the guys at Hollow Bastion and you do as well, then why haven't they ever mentioned that before?"

"Maybe they knew what might happen." Donald offered as an answer.

"I'll have to thank Alia for tweaking my hearing; you don't sound as garbled now." Reps replied to Donald, "As for your question, I don't think it's that simple."

"Well, once we get all repaired and stuff we should be able to find our answer." Ryan answered back, "Hopefully nothing else gets in the way before then?"

Twilight Town

"Hey, I think they're coming to." Ollette stated.

"Oh my, where am I?" Sonic grunted, "Damn tunnels of unknown darkness."

"Sonic? Are we still alive?" Shadow asked, "Oh hey, those guys are new."

"What guys? Hey, who's the girl in the pink clothing? I don't remember her jumping in with us." Charmy answered, lifting a girl off of her.

"You showed up just after she did." Pence answered back, "Maybe you can tell us what happened…"

Back in Space

"Man, this ship sure is a lot cooler than ours." Sora sighed, "Cid kind of screwed us over didn't he?"

"I believe that to be a compliment." Gilliam stated, "Regardless, it would seem that place you were from before has reappeared."

"You mean Twilight Town?" Dark replied, "I wonder how Hayner and the gang are doing?"

"You know them too?" Goofy asked, "Something wrong here."

"I'm beginning to suspect that something larger is going on as well." Alia dictated, "From my calculations**,** that energy signal we've been getting seems to be the cause of it; I've yet to pinpoint where it's coming from though."

"Well, then let's head for Twilight Town." Donald decided.

"Who died and made Mr. Aflac the leader?" Reps laughed, to which Donald fumed and made a lot of angry, jumbled words and noises.

"We've got nothing else to go on for now, so set a course for Twilight Town**,** Gilliam." Ryan commanded.

"Acknowledged." Gilliam responded as the Outlaw Star headed for the town bathed in eternal twilight.

Twilight Town: Train Station

As the gang of heroes slowly walked down towards the main common of Twilight Town, a commotion drew their attention as a short black mage came running by.

"H-help! The Sandlot! It's Seifer!" Vivi shouted as he ran past them, "Somebody please help us!"

"Sounds like we've got trouble!" Sora shouted, "Come on let's go!"

"Hey, I'm the hero here**,** buddy." Ryan interjected, "So let's go!"

Sighing, the rest of the group raced off after them towards the Sandlot.

At the Sandlot, the source of the trouble was a bunch of Dusks that apparently knocked the crap out of Seifer.

"Heh, I thought he was supposed to be a tough guy." Dark joked, before realizing the Dusks had turned their attention to them, "Damn! Let's do this then!"

After beating back the Dusks, Ryan and gang got knocked back as some bigger, not**-**yet**-**seen Nobodies decided to crash the party.

"Who the hell are those guys? They've got some pretty big swords." Ryan quipped, "Just have to hit them harder."

Winding up his Keysaber, Ryan hurled it at the Nobody, prying it from its sword and then yanking it for himself.

"Whoa, I feel funny." Ryan murmured as his eyes glowed red before he plowed through the Nobody with its own sword.

Not to be outdone, Sora quickly followed Ryan's pickup and used the enemy's own weapons against them as well.

"Impressive. Not many people can handle the Berserkers like that." Came a monotone, deadpan voice, along with a clapping sound.

Looking around for the source, the group spotted two people dressed in black cloaks, no doubt Organization members.

"I think you give them too much credit." Said the other voice, similarly deadpan but apparently female.

"By the way, have you seen a man named Tekka and another named Axel?" he asked, his voice showing no emotion whatsoever, "I expect he's here somewhere."

"Like I care!" Dark quipped.

"You see, those two are no longer acting in our best interests." The man continued.

"Is he with the Organization?" Goofy asked, "Seems kind of funny you guys would in-fight."

"Doesn't seem very organized for an organization, eh?" Reps chuckled.

"Don't let your guards down. Tekka and Axel will stop at nothing to turn you into a Heartless." The man added.

"Gee, thanks for looking out for us mister." Ryan huffed, "I'm sure we can handle ourselves without any advice from you."

"Glad to hear it." The woman responded, "Those two aside, it would break our hearts to hear something happened to you."

"Hearts? You guys don't have any hearts!" Donald replied back.

"True, we don't have hearts." The man said, pulling back his hood to reveal his face, tossing aside his blue hair, "But we remember what it was like. That's what makes us special."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Dark growled.

"We know very well how to injure a heart." The blue-haired man answered, opening up a doorway to darkness, "Sora**;** Ryan; you two keep on fighting those Heartless."

"Let's jump in after him." Sora whispered to the group, "Maybe he'll lead us to the Organization's world."

"Are you high?" Ryan asked back, "We have no idea where that could lead us to."

"Don't be reckless; do you want to end up like Riku?" The woman stated, pulling back her hood and showing off long, bright orange hair framed by a pair of headphones before the two bowed and stepped back into the portal, disappearing.

"Hey, wait!" Sora shouted, "What did she mean, end up like Riku?"

"Hey, how about you get out of my town now? You've caused enough trouble." Seifer's voice shouted at the group, apparently having come to.

"You asshole! You never change do you?" Ryan replied, 'Wait? Why did I say that?'

Dark looked at Ryan funny but shook his head before signaling to the group they should go.

"Riku…" Sora muttered, his eyes showing him zoning out.

"Fine! Have it your way." Donald replied, "Let's go guys."

"Hold it!" Seifer shouted.

"Make up you freaking mind!" Dark sighed.

"This goes to the strongest guy in Twilight Town." Seifer shouted, holding up a vaguely familiar trophy.

Sora pointed at himself and was about to say something before Ryan butted in.

"Like I need proof that I could kick you arse." Ryan chuckled, "I'm out of here."

Obviously angered by Ryan's comment, Seifer marched over, roughly shoved the trophy in Goofy's arms, and walked off with his little crew.

"Was it something I said?" Ryan said with grin before hearing his name called, "Huh?"

"Hey guys!" Pence shouted, "Oh, Sora! You're here too! Do you guys know each other?"

"You could say that; what's up?" Sora asked.

"Do you know a girl named Kairi? And someone named Charmy?" Pence asked.

"Kairi!" Ryan shouted.

"Charmy!" Sora shouted, before looking at Ryan and the two of them laughing, "That was weird; anyway, you bet I do!"

"There were also some crazy animals; you guys better come to the station then." Pence stated as the group headed towards there.

Arriving at the station, the group was flagged down by Hayner and Ollette.

"So, how do you guys know our friends anyway?" Dark asked.

Hayner and Ollette looked at the ground before explaining…

…"What a romantic story." Ollette stated in reply to Kairi's adventure so far.

"If you guys stick around, Sora and Ryan are bound to show up." Pence explained.

"Yeah, each one of them said they'd come back." Hayner added.

"Okay." Kairi answered.

"Sounds like an idea to me…even if something still seems weird about all this." Charmy answered as well.

"What took you guys so long?" Tekka's voice stated before he and someone who lookedsimilar to him appeared from a pathway of darkness, "Somehow I knew you'd be here."

"I tell ya, guys, you've got a lot of guts; jumping right into the darkness like that." Axel stated, slowly walking towards the group.

'Damn! Where's my blaster?' Charmy thought, looking for it, 'I must've lost it going through that stupid pathway.'

Meanwhile, Hayner and Pence attempted to stop them, but just ended up flying right through him.

As that was occurring, Sonic and Shadow were just getting back from looking around and pulled back the curtain, heading into the Usual Spot.

"Hey, did we miss…" Sonic started before seeing Axel grab Kairi, "Anything? Who the hell are you!"

"Wasn't planning on this…" Tekka sighed, "She's coming with us…and so are the rest of you."

With that, Axel tossed Kairi into his portal followed by a kicking and screaming Charmy.

"You bastard! Let me go! When Ryan gets a hold of you, he'll tear you a new everything!" Charmy shouted, trying to break his grip.

"That's what we're counting on." Tekka stated, "Now it's your turn, you two; make this easy."

"The hell I will!" Sonic shouted, dashing towards Tekka in a spin dash.

"That's quite the move you've got there." Tekka stated, stepping aside and dodging Sonic's attack before grabbing Shadow, "I don't want to hurt any of you, but if I can't get you to come peacefully, I'll just have to make you. Got it memorized?"

Grabbing hold of Shadow, Tekka jumped into his portal to collect their other prisoners.

"Shadow!" Sonic shouted, speeding into the portal before it vanished from sight…

"Kairi." Sora sighed, holding up a familiar keepsake.

"Hmmm, that might've been those two fellows we heard about." Reps surmised.

"Sorry." Hayner offered.

"Hey, don't worry guys." Ryan stated, "Those guys can handle themselves…and if that Kairi chick is half as annoying as Sora here, then she should be fine too."  
"What?" Sora gasped, half in disbelief at Ryan's arrogance and half in shock.

"We've got to help them somehow though!" Dark shouted, accidentally knocking into Goofy who dropped the trophy, sending the shiny sphere placed on it rolling away.

The gang hurried to grab them, with Hayner, Pence, and Ollette grabbing the green, yellow, and red ones; meanwhile, Sora picked up the blue one as Ryan pulled a similar one from the pouch Scott had given him.

Stretching out his arm, Ryan, like the others, held out the gem in order to see the eternal twilight's reflection through it.

After a few moments though, both Ryan and Sora seemed to zone out…almost as if someone else was watching through them.

"Ryan?" Dark asked, "You okay bro?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm okay." Ryan sighed, shaking his head to regain his senses.

"What about you Sora?" Donald asked.

"Yeah, me too." Sora replied in the same low tone as Ryan before sensing something.

Holding out his orb, both Ryan's and his began to glow and then float in the air.

"Hey, I know what this means." Ryan laughed, pulling out his Keysaber.

"Like hell; this is my job!" Sora shouted, pulling out his Keyblade as both of them did their move to open up the new pathway.

"They get along well don't they?" Dark joked.

"Tell me about it." Goofy mumbled, "Hoi-oi-oi-oi indeed."

"What just happened?" Pence asked.

"A new path is open; our friends are out there waiting for us." Ryan explained.

"Hurry then guys! Go save them!" Ollette shouted.

"Don't worry." Dark chuckled, grinning at her, "We'll be back with them before you know it."

Outlaw Star

"Man, we just keep missing people don't we?" Ryan sighed, "It's getting kind of depressing."

"Don't be sad guys." Donald offered.

"He's got a point; you guys are the key that connects everything after all." Goofy replied.

"Yeah, so don't worry." Dark added, "We'll find them; I know it."

"I know, just…disheartening, right Sora?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah…almost seems like it's our fault." Sora chuckled a bit, "We just need to keep doing what we always do."

"Couldn't have put it better!" Reps admitted, "So, any idea what to do now?"

"If I could have your attention, Gilliam and I have been studying that signal and we've got a lock on it." Alia stated as she entered the cockpit, "I can't say it doesn't surprise me since this is where you guys started to begin with."

"Huh? What is that supposed to mean?" Dark asked.

"Why, the signal is coming from none other than Hallow Bastion." Alia replied, "And from the look of things, something bad is about to happen."

"We'd better hurry then!" Ryan commanded, "Strap in and prepare for takeoff; Gilliam, let's go!"

"Acknowledged!" Gilliam replied, plotting a course.

Hallow Bastion

Arriving at the square, the group was shocked to see even more Heartless than usual…followed by those creepy Dusk Nobodies flying past them.

"Great; more trouble as usual." Ryan sighed, "We'd better go check on the others and see what's up."

"Sounds like a plan." Sora agreed, walking towards their house before recognizing someone familiar, "Cloud!"

"Ah, I had a feeling you'd be here; you've been chasing Sephiroth**,** haven't you?" Dark pried.

"Yeah…I'll get him. This time, we'll settle things." Cloud explained, "Me and the one who embodies all the darkness in me."

"I thought you looked kind of different." Donald answered.

"You guys must've seen him a lot earlier than we did, because he doesn't look too different to me." Ryan replied.

"Let me know if you guys see him." Cloud asked.

"Sure; what does he look like?" Sora asked.

"I can field that." Dark interrupted, "Silver hair, long sword**,** compensating for something."

"Okay…we'll see you later then Cloud." Sora replied.

"Be careful; he likes to mess with your mind and make you think the darkness is the only option." Cloud warned.

"Is something wrong?" Aerith asked, walking over to the group, "Cloud?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." Cloud responded, walking away, "I don't want you involved."

"Ah, Cloud is worried about you." Reps chuckled.

"Even if I go far away, I'll come back; you don't need to worry about those guys." Cloud answered, completely ignoring Reps.

"Go get things settled then." Aerith answered, "Go find your light. I'll wait."

With that Cloud walked off, leaving the group wondering about their wayward friend.

Later, at what apparently was now Merlin's house, the group of heroes entered to find some of their friends busy with something.

"Hey fellas, you're just in time." Cid stated, turning around to face them, "Leon's found something**,** so head on over to the Postern."

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"It's Anse's and Ansem's computer!" Yuffie shouted back.

"Hey, that'll come in handy trying to figure out some things…which reminds me." Ryan started, "Do you guys find it weird knowing both us and Sora?"

"Whatcha y'all talking about?" Cid asked, "We've known you guys for as long as we can remember; ever since we bumped into you at Traverse Town."

"Are you sure?" Dark added, "Absolutely positive?"

"Of course; you guys took those two down when they nearly destroyed the heart of all worlds." Yuffie replied, "You get hit on the head or something**,** you goof?"

"No, just…something isn't adding up." Dark replied, "Maybe Leon might know something."

"Well, I reckon you can find your answers at that computer**,** so skedaddle!" Cid shouted.

On their way to the Postern, they were interrupted by a voice asking them if they were with the Restoration Committee.

"Huh? Who said that?" Ryan asked, looking around, before three small women popped up out of nowhere, "Ack! Don't do that!"

"What's Leon doing?" asked the first one, dressed in some white and yellow**-**colored outfit.

"They're so cute!" Dark shouted, grabbing them in a big hug, "Can I keep them?"

"Hey**,** you big lug." Cried the second one dressed all in black, "Hands off!"

"Ahhh…" Dark sighed, letting them go, "You're no fun whatsoever!"

"I don't even remember what we were getting at." The third one dressed in a bright orange and yellow affair sighed, "We'd better get back to Boldo and Mal…"

At that point she was hushed by the other two and an awkward silence settled over the group.

After a small bit of chatting and fighting amongst themselves, the group warped away leaving our heroes to wonder…WTF just happened.

After taking out a few Heartless, the group arrived at the Postern, but with no Leon in sight.

"Over here!" Aerith shouted, standing on the other side of the platform, "We found their computer; the King and Yoshino are very interested in it."

"The King?" Donald asked.

"Yoshino?" Ryan asked in confusion, "Wait…Scott's here? Why the change to his assumed name?"

"I don't suppose Riku's with him is he?" Sora asked.

"Nope; maybe the King will know something though." Aerith suggested, "The computer could help too. Just go through that doorway to get to the study, he's waiting in there."

With that the group marched through the catacombs of the lab pathways and stumbled upon Ansemian and Ansem's study.

"I'm telling you, I know I heard something." Dark commented, "And saw something too; some kind of blue thing with antennae."

"I think you're just hallucinating." Ryan sighed, "Man, this place is a mess."

Looking around, Sora stopped when he gazed upon a picture containing a familiar face.

"Ansem…but who's that other person with him?" Sora asked, walking over to the picture.

"That's Ansemian; I guess in our world she'd be like your Ansem." Ryan explained, "Kind of weird that our ultimate boss was a female; that usually doesn't happen."

"It looks like there's a third person with them, but the picture's all faded." Goofy noted, "Wonder who that person could be?"

"Don't know; I don't like it though." Reps quipped before being interrupted by a female voice.

"I'm looking for someone." A girl dressed in black stated, "He's got really spiky hair."  
Laughing, the group pointed at Sora.

"No, not you. His is much spikier." She explained, "I'll just take a look around."

Cut to about ten minutes later, the study is in even worse shape than it originally was with the girl sighing into a huff.

"Sorry to bother you." She stated before leaving.

"Damn, that girl has got issues." Ryan sighed, "Wait…could she have been talking about Cloud?"

"Ah, you guys made it." Leon stated, appearing out of nowhere, "And both of you to boot…color me impressed."

"Are the King and Scott, I mean Yoshino with you?" Dark asked.

"Shhh, you'll see them soon enough." Leon answered, "This should tide you guys over. The computer room is through there, so please be careful with it."

No sooner had they entered the room then Sora started going a bit crazy with the keyboard, pushing the buttons without any rhyme or reason.

"Whoa, calm down dude." Dark chided, "You want to break it?"

"Right, sorry; got carried away for a second there." Sora sighed.

"Whoa!" Goofy shouted, seeing something blue dash across the ground and the fall down with a thud on the keyboard.

"I knew I wasn't seeing things." Dark shouted, trying to tackle it and missing, smashing the keys recklessly.

"Attention current user, this is a warning. Further misuse of this terminal will result in immediate defensive action." Came a booming voice over the speakers.

"What the hell was that?" Reps quipped.

"I am the Master Control Program." The MCP explained, "I oversee this system."

Going to get up, Dark smashed a few more keys and set off the MCP's alarms.

"Dark!" the group shouted, "Stop it!"

"It's not my fault!" Dark shouted back.

"Decision gate reached; you are now under arrest. End of line." The MCP dictated.

"And how the hell do you propose you do that? You're a damn computer program!" Ryan laughed, "So do your worst…"

Leon looking around for anything suspicious noticed a laser beam charging behind the group.

"Look out!" Leon shouted, but too late as it hit the group and began to digitize them.

"I feel funny." Dark groaned as they were broken down bit by bit and transported to…

Space Paranoids: Delta Hidden Forbidden Pit Cell

"Ugh…why do we keep doing such stupid things?" Ryan sighed, coming to, "Where did we end up?"

"I don't know; where are the others?" Sora groaned, coming to as well, "Look, there they are."

Looking over themselves and seeing they'd change a bit, they heard a cry for help and saw that their friends had been surrounded by Heartless, albeit oddly looking ones.

"Come on guys, show them who's the boss!" Ryan shouted, before a human looking person in red light lined clothing and a young boy wearing black tattered clothing, his hair a dark shade of blue, and a scarf billowing in the breeze appeared before them.  
"I am Commander Sark…and that is Cubia." Sark scoffed for a moment, "I wouldn't suggest any funny business."

"Peh, all talk." Sora huffed.

Saying nothing, Sark raised up his hand and electrified their friends as if to prove his point.

"Okay, we get it. Stop!" Ryan shouted, which elicited a grin from Sark before he escorted them to a holding cell.

At the cell, Ryan and the others were looking over themselves and how odd it was.

"We're all glowy and crap." Sora stated about himself, Donald, and Goofy.

"And why do we look like we just dropped out of some steam-driven punk sci-fi thing?" Ryan quipped about his, Dark's, and Reps' new look.

"What kind of world is this anyway?" Sora questioned, before being answered by a new voice.

"You're in a mainframe computer system…sort of." A male, responded.

"It was a computer system to process data." Came another male voice, this one a bit harsher, "Though it would seem something has gone wrong."

"It was originally a copy from the ENCOM Corporation that then had its hardware intertwined with that from the CC Corporation." The first voice explained, "This new user though customized it and then used it as Hallow Bastion's OS; for research and other endeavors. My name is Tron."

"And who's the happy fellow over there in black?" Dark asked.

"I'm Haseo; so stop pissing me off!" Haseo shouted at him.

"God! Someone's a touch irritable." Dark sighed, "What are we here for anyway?"

"We're under arrest." Tron stated, "Who are you though? Your configuration is interesting."

After a round of introductions, Tron began to piece together what was going on.

"I see; so you are users after all." Tron explained, "I had a feeling that Haseo there is a user too, but he won't ever explain it to me."  
"Look, the sooner I find my friend and the sooner we fix this, the happier I'll be." Haseo growled, going to sulk in a corner.

"You guys should go before the MCP notices you." Tron explained, "Idle too long and you'll be de-rezzed."

"Is that anything like neutering? I ask because Dark here is way too friendly with the ladies**,** and well, we can't really do anything to lessen that." Ryan joked.

"If I could get this fixed, then I could send you back; but without power it won't run." Tron explained, pointing towards a console, "Get power and we can get you guys back."

"Then let's hurry." Haseo interjected, "The sooner these morons are gone the better."

After arguing who would unlock it and Tron being amazed at User abilities, the group made their way towards the power module mechanism.

After a rousing game of needle in the haystack and plenty of near misses, the power had been restored and the group was able to use the console.

"Good, let's get rid of these guys fast." Haseo grumbled, "They're only bringing us down."

"Aren't you full of sunshine?" Reps sighed, "What crawled up your arse anyway?"

"Hmph." Haseo huffed as he walked away.

"What's up with that guy Tron?" Goofy asked, "He seems really anti-social."

"I'm not sure, but I think something happened to him before our data streams merged together." Tron explained, tinkering with the console, "I think the fact that his friend is still missing has him on edge."

"I can understand that, but he really needs to mellow." Ryan quipped, "So, we heading back or what?"

"Yeah, you're all set. However, I have a favor to ask of you guys." Tron stated, standing up.

"No problem!" Sora shouted.

"You haven't even heard what it was yet." Tron stated, stunned at their easily gained help, "You guys really are illogical; you _must_ be Users."

"Hey, you're our buddy now. We can't leave you hanging like that." Dark responded.

"Thanks…I need you to find the password to the DTD program; my original user should have it." Tron explained, "Find that and I can get back my functions again."

"Hey, we could probably find those files that we need**,** too." Goofy added, "So then, who's your User?"

"My primary user was Ansem the Wise." Tron responded, "Though the data files show the profile of a secondary user from CC Corp by the name of Ansemian; I wonder who she is?"

'I still don't get what's going on here…' Ryan thought, 'I hope we get an answer soon enough.'

"Ansem?" Sora shouted, "But…well…"

"Don't worry Tron; we'll get you that password." Donald stated, hushing Sora.

"Okay." Tron said with a nod, before the console's power fluctuated, "Uh oh, you better hurry; the MCP might catch on soon. I'll hold this as long as I can."

"Gotcha." Ryan answered back, logging in to the console and zapping them all back to the real world.

Hallow Bastion: Research Lab

As Leon desperately worked away on the keyboard trying to get his friends back, the same laser beam activated once again and with a burst of light the group was back in the real world.

"Hey, it worked!" Ryan chuckled, "Good job**,** Tron!"

After a quick explanation, Leon surmised that without the password, they were pretty much stuck, to which he did his trademark face-palm with the silent gaze.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to do that in this reality." Ryan joked, "We'll figure out that password no problem."

"I suppose**,** maybe the study has a clue." Leon responded, "If not, it's a wild goose chase."

At that, a voice asked what the group was chasing and was revealed to be the woman dressed in black from before.

"A hidden room huh? Clever." The woman stated, "I think I'll look around."  
Following her back into the study, Ryan sighed as they found her ransacking it even further than she had last time.

"Man, she doesn't give up does she?" Dark quipped.

"We won't either." Donald stated, "We'll find that password somewhere."

Following her, the group saw her grab the portrait of Ansem and Anse and then punch the wall, hoping to find another secret room; however, she merely knocked the dust away…revealing what appeared to be text.

Looking over the wall, the group found what appeared to read: 'Hollow Main Security Door To Darkness'.

"Hey, that's that DTD they were talking about!" Sora shouted, "We found a clue."

"That's good to hear." Leon stated, walking over to them, "Any idea what it means though?"

"Hey, did I hear someone mentioning the Door to Darkness?" stated a familiar voice.

"I think they did." Replied a second, slightly higher pitched voice.

At this, the group turned to see standing in the door none other than the King and Yoshino.

"Your Majesty!" Sora, Donald, and Goofy shouted before being hushed.

"Keep it down guys; Org. XIII may be listening." Yoshino explained before closing the door.

Whilst Dark and Ryan walked over to Yoshino, Mickey got tackled by Donald and Goofy and a silly scene happened till everyone calmed down.

"So why the name change Scott?" Ryan questioned.

"Well, some things have changed." Yoshino answered, pulling back his hood, "I've had a bit of an adventure after all."

"Hmm, you do look a bit different." Dark quipped.

"I could say the same about you." Yoshino chuckled, "I see you've met Sora and you two are still in one piece. I guess I owe you a Coke**,** Mickey."

"I'll collect later." Mickey stated, "Regardless, you mentioned the Door to Darkness?"

"Yeah, we're trying to find the password for someone." Goofy explained.

"Password?" Mickey asked, a little confused.

"They mean a code of sorts." Yoshino offered, "I thought you were good at brainteasers Ryan, what happened?"

"Hey, we haven't been slacking off either you know." Ryan fired back with a chuckle, "Maybe you'll get to see a little later."

"Well, given what's happened with reality, the Door to Darkness could only be opened by the seven princesses or in this case, the seven from your reality and the seven from ours." Mickey explained.

"So you two know what's going on then? I'm not losing my mind." Ryan asked.

"Yeah, we can explain when you get back if you want, but right now you need to deliver that code to your pal." Yoshino stated, "Don't worry, we won't be going anywhere right now; we'll be here when you return. We'll explain everything after you get that data."

After verifying all the princesses' names, the group headed back into the Research Lab and returned to Tron.

Space Paranoids: Delta Hidden Forbidden Pit Cell

"Where are Tron and Haseo at?" Ryan asked, before the console began to twitch and make some noises.

"Hey, stop messing with that!" Reps shouted before all of them were teleported away to another place.

Space Paranoids: Omega Server: Conflicted I/O Tower Lumina Cloth

"This place looks weird; what's with the funky crowd?" Sora quipped.

"Welcome to the Game Grid; though I must state it's had a few changes." Sark's voice boomed from nowhere, "You've been subject to play a few games. Lose, and you'll suffer immediate de-resolution; win…well, nobody ever wins."

"Just get on with it**,** you creep!" Dark shouted, before three beams of light popped up in front of them, "Oh snap, could it be?"

Grabbing hold of the light, the program initiated and formed three brand-spanking new light cycles.

"Swish! This is going to be fun!" Dark shouted, "All badass like Cloud on Fenrir!"

"Uh oh, I think we've got company coming!" Ryan shouted, pointing to Heartless light-cycle look-alikes.

"Well, everyone find a partner and let's go!" Sora revved his cycle, taking off after Goofy hopped on.

Similarly, Ryan took off with Dark and Donald with Reps.

After taking out a number of the light-cycle Heartless, a giant tank style Heartless covered in creepy purple things launched a fireball at the heroes, nearly missing them and splitting the wall of the game-grid-arena-thing.

"Man, even for the author that last set of words was lazy." Ryan quipped, "I think we can get out that way guys; try not to get bashed into the walls!"

"Easier said than done!" Donald shouted, "Let me drive! I can handle this better than you!"

"If it's about as well as you handle the English language, I think I'll take my chances with my driving." Reps groaned, dodging an attack and plowing through some light-cycle Heartless.

"I wonder what those freaky purple things are." Dark questioned, smacking them away with his Keysaber.

"Maybe they're with that CC Corp. program…what was his name?" Sora responded back, "Cubia?"

"I think that's it!" Ryan shouted, "Just those two tanks in the way; I'll handle this."

Jumping straight up, Ryan spun his Keysaber around and reflected the tanks shots back, short circuiting them and making them break down.

Sora, knowing Ryan didn't have anywhere to land, jumped off his bike towards Ryan, used his inertia to toss Ryan back on Dark's bike, and then landed back on his.

"You sure took a risk there." Goofy chided, "You could've gotten hurt."

"Heh, I know; but having some type of debt from him is nice." Sora chuckled as the group pulled out of the grid and warped away.

Space Paranoids: Delta Server: Internal Disc Drive Mac Anu

"I see you guys made it out in one piece." Haseo huffed, "Good; for a second, I thought I wouldn't have any backup."

"Hey, you found Tron!" Sora shouted, "Is he okay?"

"I'm still processing…why did you come back here though? You should've just transferred the data." Tron explained, standing up.

"Oh…right. Well, we have the password anyway, so where do we need to go?" Dark asked.

"Delta Hidden Forbidden Input Output." Haseo stated, "Tron figured that'd be the correct place to go before we got hijacked by that red glowy freak."

"Hey Haseo, does the name Cubia mean anything to you?" Ryan asked, "We saw someone by that name earlier and then were attacked by these purple things."

"It was every Japanese schoolgirl's bad dream; attacked by thousands of purple tentacle things!" Dark shouted with a touch of madness in his voice.

"Ooooooookay; let's get going to that place you mentioned." Reps sighed, trying to block the mental images of Dark's statement.

'Damn**,** that guy is weird.' Haseo thought to himself, bringing up the area word at the Chaos Gate and teleporting the group to the necessary area.

After hashing it out with a number of Heartless, the group came to some large control room.

"Good, I should be able to input the information from here." Tron stated, bringing up the input device, "So, what's the password fellows?"

"Oh lord, let me pull out the list." Sora sighed, bringing out a digital list of the 14 princesses from both of their worlds and handing it to Tron.

"Goodness!" Tron gasped in shock, "This is some password!"

After entering it, Tron looked elated as he reacquired his abilities but started looking worried as the MCP's voice boomed over the system.

"Ah, finally, the files I've been searching for." The MCP stated, "Hmmm? What's this? A self-destruct program for the town? I wonder what that would look like."

"No!" Tron shouted, reconfiguring the password and sealing the area off from the MCP.

"Program! You altered the password." The MCP stated, quite upset, "Your insolence will cost this town."

"We've got to hurry back to the Root Town!" Tron shouted, "He's going to try and destroy it!"

"Right!" Ryan shouted, "Let's roll!"

"Whatever…" Haseo groaned, "What a pain in the ass."

Space Paranoids: Delta Server: Internal Disc Drive Mac Anu

"There!" Dark shouted, pointing to a large Heartless in the town square, "That's the thing causing the system problems."

"Wait a second…" Haseo stated, "I recognize that outline; KITE!"

"Arrrrrrrrgh…" The Heartless moaned, pulling out two large, three-pronged blades.

'"Get back? I don't know what I'll do?"' Reps thought, not seeing anyone else around him react to Kite's words, 'Am I the only one that can understand him?'

"Dammit! That bastard Cubia must be behind this!" Haseo shouted, "How the hell do we help him?"

"The only way we know how." Ryan stated, pulling out his Keysaber, "We've got to weaken him and try to rip his data from the Heartless. We're all technically data here so Reps should be able to jury rig something."

"Huh? Right! I'll see what I can do but I need some time." Reps replied, opening up his wrist com, "Tron, give me a hand with this!"

"Okay then; Donald and Goofy you provide back up for Reps, the rest of us will handle this guy!" Sora shouted, pulling out his Keyblade, "Let's go!"

"Azure Tiger Claws!" the Kite-Heartless PC mumbled, launching a frenzy of blades at our heroes who had trouble holding them back before batting them away.

However, they did cause some collateral damage as they took out some nearby towers and started an awful mess.

"Watch it guys!" Haseo shouted, "We can't let the town get damaged like that!"

"It's your damn friend**,** Haseo!" Sora shouted, "Don't you know any of his weaknesses?"

"Actually, now that you mention it…" Haseo stated, rummaging around in his inventory for something, "I think I do."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Dark asked, "Use it!"

"You don't have to tell me**,** dammit!" Haseo shouted, tossing an Asian Mango at Kite, "It's his favorite!"

"Fruit?" Sora quipped, "You're throwing fruit at him!"

"It's working, see?" Haseo replied as the group watched Kite's PC munching on the fruit, oblivious to the group.

"This is our chance to knock him out!" Haseo shouted, pulling out a massive sword, "Let's go!"

"Jeez**,** he's bossy." Dark sighed, unleashing a series of slashes along with Ryan and Sora before Haseo finished it off with a jumping slash that sent the Kite-Heartless into a daze.

"You guys done with that thing over there?" Ryan shouted at Reps and Tron.

"We should be." Reps answered back, holding an orb-shaped device, "It should help pull the two of them apart."

"I've got the protocols set." Tron added, "Sora; you and Ryan should be able to use it now."

"Gotcha!" Sora answered back, taking the device from Reps and tossing it at the Kite-Heartless, "Ryan!"

"Do you access?" Ryan shouted, crossing Keys with Sora as the program initiated, leading to the Kite-Heartless screaming out as the two data parts were being divided.

"Are you sure that thing will work?" Haseo questioned, actually showing worry for someone for a change.

"It's the best we could come up with on such short notice." Reps replied, "Your friend should be okay but I don't know what'll happen to the Heartless."

"Not like that really matters to me…" Haseo replied, "Kite…"

After waiting patiently, Azure Kite's PC finally popped free of program and crashed nearby.

"Go check on him Haseo, we can handle the Heartless!" Dark shouted as the Heartless half of the program popped free, corrupted and fragmented without Kite's data to complete it.

After a few well**-**placed attacks and some humor involving binary, the Heartless was gone and the system seemed to have normalized.

"That should do it; let's go check on our friends." Sora replied, "I still don't get what those 0's and 1's had to do with ducks."

"It's all about the Christmas lights my friend." Dark chuckled as they headed towards the area where Kite's PC had landed.

After wandering past a destroyed boundary, Ryan and the others found Haseo helping Kite stand in a mysterious white space.

"What is this?" Donald asked, "It's so…quiet here."

"Arrrrrgh…" Kite groaned, holding on to Haseo as his data was still reassembling itself.

"I hate it when you do that right by my ear." Haseo sighed, "This place is like a secret room or something; a Black Box for CC Corp's program if you will."

"That program blew Kite through an impassible boundary and into a secret area?" Sora questioned, "Either that program was buggy or Kite there is more powerful than he looks. It's too bad he doesn't seem to speak English; I'd like to find out what happened."

"Arrrrrgh…" Kite moaned, letting go of Haseo as his leg reformed and soon hovered in place, "Arrrrrrrr…."

"He said that when the two of them were ripped from where they belong and thrown here into this combination of the two programs, Haseo was unconscious and so Kite left him with Tron." Reps translated, "While fighting that Cubia fellow, he was overtaken by…Gomora, whatever those are, and then the MCP fused him with that Heartless."

The group just stared at Reps; especially Haseo**,** who's face was a mixture of surprise and oddly…giddy wanting?

"You mean you know what he says?" Haseo shouted, grabbing Reps by the shoulder and shaking him, "Then can you find out why he clings to me so much? He may be my friend but…sometimes I wonder what he's thinking when he looks at me."

"I could translate if you want to ask him." Reps sighed, sweatdropping, "Not sure I want to know what it's all about though."

After asking the question, although with a lot of tense feelings in the air, Haseo turned to Reps for a translation of Kite's words.

"Um….uh….uh…" Reps stated, "Well, he…um…he, wow. Well, let's just say he likes you and leave it at that."

"What? What kind of answer is that?" Haseo shouted before the group teleported away, "You can't just leave me hanging like that!"

'Looks like I got them teleported just in time.' Tron thought with a sigh, 'Calming down Haseo isn't going to be easy…though I think my job will still be easier. Good luck guys.'

"Arrrrr…" Kite stated, putting his hand on Haseo's shoulder and smiling.

Hollow Bastion: Computer Room

"Okay, we're back!" Ryan shouted, "What's happening? Is the town okay?"

"I don't see anyone around." Sora replied, "The King and your friend don't seem to be here either; they must be out helping the others. Let's get going then!"

With that, the group began to make their way back towards the Postern, before being interrupted by a large beam of light that appeared from out of nowhere.

"That energy…that entrance…that song." Ryan seethed, his hand gripping his weapon tightly, "It's him!"

"Hmmm….well, well; this certainly is a surprise." Stated a silver-haired man with a huge, jet-black wing, "I didn't think I'd see both of you here; heh, it would seem that fool and his device have made things much more interesting."

"Who the hell is he!" Sora shouted, "And what device is he talking about?"

"That's Sephiroth." Dark growled, his fangs bared, "He's been the cause of a lot of trouble; as for that device, don't let him confuse you. He's probably trying to screw up your focus."

"Who? Me? Heh, I almost didn't recognize you; funny, you almost resemble me with those wings of yours." Sephiroth laughed, "Where's Cloud?"

"Like I'd tell you!" Sora shouted, "You're his dark half aren't you? Then find him yourself!"

"Heh, is that how he's explaining it? I guess he still has a small bit of light to snuff out." Sephiroth laughed, "I don't have any more time to waste on all of you; know this though: When I'm done with Cloud, I'm coming after you…we still have unfinished business."

With that, Sephiroth simply flew off into the air and away from sight.

"Gawrsh, that fellow is creepy." Goofy mumbled, visibly shaken.

"Tell us about it." Reps sighed, "Let's see if we can't find the others."

Coming to the edge of the town district, the group could do naught but stare with mouths agape that the unfathomable amount of Heartless that had overrun the area; their friends fighting valiantly but not seeming to gain any ground.

"Hang on guys; we're coming!" Ryan shouted, summoning his Keysaber and running to the field of battle with his friends in tow.

However, Ryan didn't get very far before being stopped by two cloaked figures.

"Leave this battle to us." Yoshi stated, "You guys need to go find our friends."

"But we can't just leave Leon and the others after all…they are our friends too." Dark replied.

"They can handle themselves." Mickey answered back, "We'll help too, but right now**,** I need all of y'all to go find the others."

The group of heroes looked at each other before Ryan and Sora winked at one another.

"Well, I can't argue with you Yoshi. You always were the realist." Ryan stated, turning to Dark and Reps, "You heard them guys, you're to go with me to help."

"He's right; Donald, Goofy, we need to head out right away if we're going to be of any use." Sora added.

"You can't be serious!" Dark shouted, winking at Ryan.

"I think he is guys." Goofy added, "Let's go then."

Nodding, the six of them sprinted off while Yoshi and Mickey were distracted and headed down towards the valley.

"Sorry Yoshi; you can settle this with me later but I can't just abandon them." Ryan shouted, "Feel free to wapoh me later if you want!"

Sighing, Mickey and Yoshi just shook their heads and smiled as the group ran out of sight.

The group didn't get too far however before being stopped by two portals of darkness, in which two known figures appeared.

"Demyx!" Sora shouted.

"Yuz!" Ryan shouted, "What the hell do you two want?"

"Oh man, they just always send the wrong gays don't they?" Demyx sighed, turning around and murmuring to Yuz.

"Don't you mean the wrong "guys"?" Yuz questioned, "We may have Sitar's, but I'm pretty sure my gate doesn't swing that way."

"Right, right…what the hell did I say that for?" Demyx groaned, "Anyway, Roxas! I know you're in there! Come on out buddy and stop all this foolishness!"

"Keydan! You can't just leave us like that; nobody leaves the Organization like that." Yuz added, "So just stop this and head back, okay?"

"I told you last time…" Sora started, pulling out his Keyblade.

"…that is not my name." Ryan finished, readying his weapon.

"Hey, that hurts my feelings you know." Demyx sighed.

"You don't have any feelings because you don't have a heart." Donald replied.

"Whoa, that's a bit harsh dude." Dark replied, "When did you become such a dick?"

"We do too have hearts…or at least remember what it was like to have them." Yuz interjected.

"Yeah right!" Sora spat, "You're just a Nobody…you aren't even a person."

"Hey, I'm not a fan of him and even I think that's crossing the line." Ryan responded.

"Very well…traitor!" Demyx shouted, pulling out a Sitar.

"If you won't come back, then you won't continue on either." Yuz stated, pulling out his own Sitar, "You'll pay for what you did to her!

"Her? Good job**,** Sora." Ryan sighed, "Oh well, you want a fight then? Let's rumble!"

"Dance Water**,** Dance!" The duo shouted as water clones of them formed around our heroes, threatening to drown them in a sea of stupidity.

"God, not these damn things again!" Dark shouted, knocking them back and forth before being dog-piled by a number of them, "Get OFF!"

Powering up and surging his energy, Dark knocked them backwards and took out the rest of them around him before locking his sights on Yuz.

"Oh dear, is someone mad?" Yuz grinned, raising up his Sitar, "Get ready for the main show!"

Swinging his Sitar around in circles, Yuz summoned forth giant walls of water that threw Dark around and threatened to drown him.

"Heh, why should he be the only one having fun?" Demyx cackled, spinning his Sitar and summoning up large orbs of water, "Drown!"

Sora and his group attempted to avoid being contained, but found themselves trapped in Demyx's balls without any air supply.

"Dark!" Ryan shouted, knocking Yuz to the ground and disabling his attack, "You going to be okay bro?"

"Pffft!" Dark spat, coughing up water, "The bastard!"

As for Sora and co, Donald used a few well timed Firagas to evaporate the attack and free themselves from Demyx's trap.

"Ugh…these clothes are dry clean**-**only too!" Sora shouted, "Roar! Power!"

With that, Sora combined with both Donald and Goofy and altered his weaponry; one Keyblade in the right hand and another spinning magically in his left.

"What the hell did you just pull?" Demyx shouted, "No matter! Dance Water**,** Dance!"

Not even phased by Demyx's clones, Sora unleashed a barrage of Firagas and slashes that put Demyx on ice.

Meanwhile, Dark and Ryan were catching their breaths as Yuz was running them ragged.  
"Heh, I guess that's all you've got Keydan." Yuz spat, "You killed the only person who I cared for…I won't let you go for that."

"I keep telling you, our name is not Keydan!" Dark shouted, before coughing up more water.

"Mind if I cut in?" Reps shouted, landing a devastating kick to Yuz's noggin, cracking his headwear into small pieces, "Weak spot for massive damage baby!"

"Where the hell were you?" Ryan shouted, "We've been getting our butts pounded here**,** if you haven't noticed!"

"Sorry, I got delayed by something." Reps replies, "Besides, I think that did it; those two look like they're finished."

"Ugh...this can't be happening!" Demyx shouted, fading away into nothingness, "Ahhhhh!"

Meanwhile, Yuz lay there slowly fading away as well, a sad look on his face as he pondered something.

"Hmm…I wonder, is there a place for me after this? If there is…will you be there?" Yuz stated, before seeing an image of a pink haired girl, "Celica…I'm coming."

With that, Yuz silently vanished, his body no more than a memory now.

"What do you think all that was about?" Dark asked, "Who's this Celica person?"

"I'm not sure; the name sounds vaguely familiar." Ryan replied, "Could she have been one of our Organization members?"

"Do any other Organization members want some?" Sora shouted as he split back into himself, Donald, and Goofy.

"Whoa, calm down**,** dude." Reps interjected, "You don't need to instigate them after all."

"There you are!" Yoshi shouted, "What the hell's wrong with you?"

Walking over to Ryan and Dark, he gave each of them a scolding wallop and a chiding.

"Now you guys need to listen." Mickey started, "I know how you feel; this isn't the way to do this though. We'll take care of it while you guys do what we told you to."

Walking off, both Yoshi and Mickey were unaware of a small battle between some Heartless and Nobodies going on above them that caused an explosion, sending two large boulders towards our heroes.

"Lookout!" came the shout as Reps and Goofy knocked the two out of the way, the boulder smacking them and knocking them backwards.

"Goofy?" Mickey questioned as Sora ran to his side, checking for any signs of life.

Sora shook his head and sighed; "This can't be happening…this isn't happening."

As for Reps, his head was dented and sparks were shooting from his wounds as his body twitched.

"Reps?" Ryan questioned, looking for any sign he was okay, "Are you there buddy?"

"Yoshino….crackle….you…Bzzt…slacker…" Reps mumbled before his eyes faded, his body no longer twitching.

"You freaking crouton!" Yoshi shouted, "Why did you? No more."

Grabbing a hold of their cloaks, both Yoshi and Mickey tossed them aside and summoned forth their weapons.

"They're going to pay for this!" Yoshi shouted, leading the charge with Mickey close behind him.

Sora and Ryan lingered momentarily before shaking their heads in anger, swearing to make their enemies suffer for this.

Hollow Bastion: Deep Gorge

After a slightly amusing montage of the other heroes (and their antics) as they fought the Heartless swarm and dealt with other, more dangerous threats, Ryan and Sora had battled their way to them.

"How can we handle all of these Heartless?" Sora questioned, knocking back more of them.

"Don't give up guys!" Shouted the dark-haired woman, smacking Heartless back with her fists.  
"Who the hell are you**,** anyway?" Ryan asked, knocking down some aerial Heartless.

"Tifa, but that's not important!" Tifa shouted, clearing a path, "Get going you guys!"

"Not more of these guys!" Sora shouted, knocking away some knight Heartless before being surrounded.

"Sora!" Ryan shouted, before a huge shockwave blew away the Heartless and out stepped a familiar blonde-haired hero.

"Heh…getting lazy on me?" Cloud quipped, readying his Buster Sword.

"Oh, were you fighting?" Ryan retorted with a grin, smacking a few dancing Nobodies away, "Isn't that a bit too easy?"

"Heh." Cloud shouted, dashing along the ground in bursts, clearing another path for Ryan and Sora, "I've got this, get moving!"

"Where the hell did Dark and the others run off to?" Ryan shouted, barreling through more Nobodies, "A little back up wouldn't be too bad."

"Heh, I thought this was easy." Leon shouted, slicing a path with his powered up Gunblade.

"Have you seen the others Leon?" Sora asked, making his way over to him.

"They're up ahead in the Crystal Fissure; I'm not sure what you'll find past that though." Leon responded, "Don't be reckless you two; you still need to find out the truth."

"Us? Reckless?" Ryan chuckled, "You must jest!"

Crystal Fissure

"Hey guys, wait up!" Ryan shouted, as he and Sora finally caught up with their friends, "I know we're in a hurry but fighting them on our own isn't exactly efficient."

"Sorry, I just got really emotional." Dark sighed, "We all did though; I mean…Reps."

"...and Goofy." Mickey added, looking down at the ground.

"You retarded idiots!" Came a familiar robotic voice, "What the hell is up with leaving me behind?"

"Reps!" Yoshi shouted, running over and smacking him in the head, "You dumbass; why'd you do something so stupid?"

"Unlike your squishy noggin, mine can be rebuilt you know." Reps replied with a grin, "I'll just let it get smashed next time if that's how you're going to act."

"What about Goofy?" Sora asked hopefully.

"He's behind me; I think I hear him now." Reps replied.

"Wait up**,** fellahs." Goofy stated, hurrying over to the group, "You know, you guys just left all of a sudden. You know I'm used to hitting my head all the time."

"Goofy." Mickey stated with a smile before turning to look out the Fissure's exit, "They're here. You guys better be ready."

Gorge of Exposition

"Who the hell is that?" Dark shouted, "He's all weird looking."

"I know her…and I'm sure Mickey knows that other guy." Yoshi replied, "That's Sakura."

"Xehanort…" Mickey mumbled, "He was Ansem's apprentice; he must've stolen his name after Ansem vanished."

"Heh, how long has it been since I abandoned that name?" Xehanort's nobody stated.

"Out with it, Nobody! Where the hell are our friends?" Sora shouted, "Riku, Kairi and the others."

"Yeah, I bet that crazy chick there knows where Charmy and the others are." Ryan growled, eyeing her intensely.

"We know nothing of your friends." Sakura replied, opening up a tunnel to darkness, "As for Riku…"

"Perhaps you should ask your friend the king?" Xehanort's nobody stated before entering the portal, followed by Sakura.

"Come back here!" Mickey shouted, dashing into the portal before it closed.

"He's far too impulsive." Yoshi sighed, "How the hell am I supposed to be his analog anyway?"

"Way to fall into their trap guys." Axel stated, appearing behind them with Tekka.

"It's a setup by, well, Organization XXVI I suppose." Tekka stated, rubbing the back of his head, "They're using you to gain hearts from the Heartless."

"That's Xenmas for you." Axel sighed, "X-E-N-M-A-S? Got it memorized?"

"Xenmas?" Donald asked.

"Hey, guys, I just realized it's an anagram for Manse…" Dark started before Ryan clamped his mouth shut, "Mmph!"

"You guys, you're the ones who took our friends." Reps shouted, glaring at Tekka.

"That's right. Name's Tekka, got it memorized?" Tekka chuckled.

"Tekka! Axel!" shouted two voices, freaking out Tekka and Axel and causing them to flee to the shadows.

Appearing were the same guys from before, the blue-haired man and the orange-haired girl.

"You two again?" Dark sighed, "What do you want?"

"I wouldn't worry; we'll make sure those two get the maximum punishment." The orange-haired girl stated, "Saix and I have a handle on this."

"Iroha! Quiet!" Saix shouted, "Regardless; your friends are in good hands…ours."

"Take us to them!" Sora shouted along with Ryan.

"Do you really want to see them that badly?" Iroha asked, "Prove it then."

Crouching down on their knees, Ryan and Sora got down on the ground and asked to see their friends.

"Heh…you really do care…so no." Saix snapped, calling forth some Heartless.

"You dirty sack of…" Dark grumbled, pulling out his Keysaber.

"Do you hate us?" Iroha asked, her voice deadpan, "Then use that hate and give us hearts; enough for a new Kingdom Hearts."

"That's enough Iroha!" Saix snapped again, opening up a portal to the darkness to leave.

"You aren't going anywhere!" shouted an angry, female voice as a lady dressed in black, a really fat dog**-**guy, and Boldo appeared in a bolt of lightning.

"Maleficent!" Sora shouted, pulling out his Keyblade.

"And Pete!" Donald grumbled, shaking his magic wand.

"Oh God, not him again…" Reps sighed, "Boldo, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Look, this isn't my idea; but boss**-**man made it clear you weren't to get taken out by those crazy fake**-**people." Boldo replied, "Teaming up with those two just seemed like a fit."

"Silence you overly**-**glitzed excuse for a henchman!" Maleficent shouted, forming a fire wall between her group and the heroes, "I'll take care of these empty shells."

"Never thought you'd help us." Sora quipped.  
"Jive turkeys, you've got the wrong idea here!" Boldo shouted, "We'll be the ones to finish you, not them! This ain't over!"

With a blast of light and a shot upwards, the group was teleported to the Outlaw Star as the Nobodies overtook the group of unexpected allies.

"Hmph." Saix muttered as he and Iroha left.

?

"Where are we?" Ryan grunted, pulling himself up and seeing the others looking around, "Are we in the path of darkness?"

"It looks familiar, so I'd say that's a good guess." Yoshi explained, "Hey, who's that?"

Looking to their left, they noticed another person in a black cloak set down a blue box before leaving.

"Wait!" Sora shouted, "Who was that?"

Picking up the box, Sora took a photo and held it out to examine it, while Donald pulled out what appeared to be an ice cream pop of some type.

"Hey, it's the group from Twilight Town." Goofy stated, "Hayner, Ollette, Pence…and…uh…"

"Roxas." Sora finished.

"…and Keydan." Ryan added, "It just popped into my head; are they who those guys were talking about?"

"You sure that's their names?" Reps asked, before seeing Dark and Donald splitting the ice cream in half, "The hell? Should you guys be eating that?"

"Mmmm, it's salty…" Donald started, "Wait…"

"Then it's sweet." Dark finished, "That's pretty tasty."

"I think I've got a hold of your ship guys." Yoshi explained, "Let's head out."

Outlaw Star

"Okay, so, Mickey bugged on us but Yoshi's still here." Dark stated, "So start spilling it; what the fudge**-**cakes of Fantasia is going on here?"

"Short or full version?" Yoshi asked, sitting down.

"How about the one that explains things without dragging the story on much further?" Alia suggested, bringing out some drinks.

"Ah, excellent idea." Yoshi quipped, "Well, I noticed the distorted effects beginning about twodays ago…"

Flashback: Yoshi at Hallow Bastiontwo days ago

"What is this strange feeling?" Yoshi murmured to himself, "Cid said the radar couldn't analyze the signal, but that it was coming from some strange place that was supposedly sealed off."

Jumping from rock to rock and flying across chasms, Yoshi soon found himself in a trippy black and white room.

"What is this place?" Yoshi asked, his voice reverberating of the walls.

"I see I'm not the only that was drawn here." Came a high, squeaky voice from behind Yoshi.

Turning around and drawing his Keysaber, Yoshi was confused to see what appeared to be…

"Mickey Mouse?" Yoshi asked, his head tilted to one side, "Is my bandana too tight again?"

"Nope; this must be the work of that mysterious gate I found." Mickey stated, "Come with me and I'll show you."

"I guess I can trust a 3-foot tall mouse." Yoshi sighed, following Mickey down a bright pathway.

The Cardinal Gate

"Man, that music is creepy." Yoshi stated, "What the hell is that thing?"

"Best I can tell; it's some device the Organization acquired." Mickey answered, "The writing indicates it as the "Cardinal Gate" That's all I can make out though."

"Hmmm…let me translate here." Yoshi stated, reading the Japanese scribbled over the five holes in the gate, "Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, Byakko, and Kinjinshi? It seems there are four guardians of the central one…which is situated right over Hallow Bastion."

"Golly, you can read that?" Mickey gasped, "Well, I did find this while searching the area; can you tell what it is?"

Taking the silver and gold block in his hands, Yoshi turned it over and around until he noticed a symbol on it.

"Ah ha!" Yoshi stated, pointing at the symbol on the brick and above Kinjinshi, "They match! I'm not sure we should put it in though without the other four though; I would suggest finding the other four first before we add this to get rid of it."

"How can we find where they are though?" Mickey questioned, "They could be anywhere."

"I'm sure some plot device will show up; why are you here though?" Yoshi asked, looking at his short companion.

"Well, best I can figure, this device here is messing up all the worlds and pulling together those that are closely related." Mickey stated, "Apparently your world and our shared enough commonality to cross over."

"Then that would mean that…Sora." Yoshi sighed, "I really hope things don't go as bad as I think they would."

"What do you mean?" Mickey asked, "Does Sora's counterpart here have some issues?"

"With Sora? Oh man, you don't know the half of it Mickey." Yoshi replied, "Anyway, let's seal this up so no one can get in here till later and start looking for the four locations of the other blocks of the Cardinal Gate."

"Sounds like a plan; let's go discuss with the others then." Mickey answered as they sealed the gate and headed back to Leon's place.

Outlaw Star: Present

"And that's about it." Yoshi explained, pulling out a map, "These four areas should have the pieces we're seeking."

"Well, I know I'm going; but we can't leave Hallow Bastion defenseless." Ryan stated, "I think Sora and Dark should come with me and the others stay with Yoshi here."

"What gives?" Reps huffed, "Why leave me alone?"

"Fine, you whiner." Ryan grumbled, "But I want you to focus any down time on repairing yourself, last thing we need is to have you blow a circuit permanently. I don't exactly have the parts to rebuild you way out here afterall."

"Good thinking." Goofy stated, "If those block thingies are as powerful as Yoshi here says, then all the power we need has to take them on. Yoshi is staying with us so we can handle whatever Heartless come our way."

"That was actually rather clear cut for you**,** Goofy." Donald said, eyeing Goofy oddly, "Did that rock do something to your brain?"

"Okay you guys, knock it off." Sora interjected, "We'll head off and take care of these things."

With that, Yoshi handed Ryan the map and teleported back down with Goofy, and Donald.

"Gilliam, see if you can cross reference this to any of our maps and find the nearest one." Ryan asked, placing the map into side panel slot.

"Roger; I've found four potential matches and the nearest one's course has been plotted." Gilliam responded, "If you could take your seats, we'll initiate warp."

"I wonder what kind of places we'll find with our worlds combined like this." Sora asked.

"I don't know, but whatever they are we can be certain of one thing." Dark replied, "It's going to be DistorteD!"

""We're the DJ of this gig, eh?"" Ryan sighed, "You just had to add in that final joke, didn't you?"

Ryan's only response was a rumbling thunder of laughter from out of nowhere, showing the author finally got one back on Ryan.

"What am I going to do…" Ryan stated, shaking his head, "…with you."


	8. with you

**DDR HEARTS 2: With You…**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

Transwarp Space

"I still hate that you've got a better ride than ours." Sora grumbled, idly toying with the map they'd gotten from Yoshi, "How much longer till we're there anyway?"

"Estimated arrival time will be five hours and 11 minutes." Gilliam responded, "If you're that anxious, why don't you go take a nap?"

"After all that fighting, I think that sounds like a good idea." Dark stated, getting up and heading down to his quarters, "Coming Alia?"

"No, I'll be fine here. I'll keep an eye on the systems, plus I don't want another fudge like last time." Alia replied, "Have a good sleep hon."

"Okay you love birds." Ryan moaned, flopping backwards on the couch, "I'm too lazy to move; I'll just fall asleep here."

After showing Sora where he could rest, Dark looked himself over in the mirror. Grinning and pointing, he then plopped into bed.

'It's good to be me.' Dark thought, drifting off to sleep with a smile.

?

"A fading song that seems like a single beat…"

"A single beat that sounds like a fading song…I want to harmonize the notes; both your chord and mine."

Because the author is lazy, let's just pretend he inserted a hodge-podge mishmash of what's been going on just before the beginning of the story (including stuff that the author hasn't even gotten to yet)…you'll even get free candy!

"Woooooooo!"

As the scene fades out on the two main heroes, a huge splash occurs with someone different bursting forth from the two of them, plummeting to some unknown fate.

Landing on a familiar machine, the figure stands in confusion as an image of all our heroes appears on the screen as a familiar song fades away.

Dimly Lit Arcade

A mysterious figure teleports in from the side of a IIDX machine; the dim light reflecting off his glasses giving his eyes a demonic glow.

"Took you long enough." Stated a figure sitting by a familiar, keyboard based game, "I've played against him; it's uncanny how similar he is to you in skill."

"And just who do you think you are, talking to me with familiarity like that?" the other figure glowered, looking over his glasses at him.

"I'm the end of a song…or perhaps all the notes that existed." The figure replied, "Regardless, my name is not important. How about you? Have you remembered yours?"

"My name is…"

Insert another hodge-podge of scenes from the beginning of DDR HEARTS and we have our second transition! Isn't this exciting?

Twilight Town ~The First Stage ~

"Another dream about them?" a dark-haired youth stated, groaning as he awoke, "I'd better get dressed; the others are probably waiting for me."

Heading down the street, the youth didn't look where he was going and ran headlong into someone else.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" the youth apologized, helping the person up, "Oh, it's just you Roxas."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean Keydan?" Roxas huffed, "You're late too, eh?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Keydan asked, before seeing Roxas racing ahead of him, "Oh no you don't, you punk!"

After getting settled, and being chided by Olette for being foolish again, the two boys joined their friends and sat in contemplation.

"That's just low." Hayner stated, "Seifer's gone too far; I mean, sure they were erased and the photos of them were swiped from the bulletin board, but blaming us? Who does he think he is?"

"An arrogant prick with a stick up his butt?" Keydan offered, chuckling till Olette gave him a look, "Seriously though, I can believe he thinks we erased the -."

"Hey, you couldn't say -." Pence stated, grabbing his throat, "I can't say it either."

"Weird…how do you steal a word like -?" Roxas offered, "We've got to figure out who did it and clear our name!"

Looking at Roxas, the rest of the group nodded and took off to search for clues.

However, Keydan clutched his chest as he stumbled, hearing a female voice in his head stating something about awakening soon.

"Huh?" Keydan stated, "What was that?"

Roxas, who had stopped after seeing Keydan stumble, gave him a look of worry before he was reassured by Keydan.

'Was that…what happened to him the other day?' Keydan thought, looking at his friend, 'Maybe…'

TT Arcade District: The Spinning Pecan

As the group enter the arcade, figuring that would be a good first place to look for clues, wandered over to the two owners to try and sort out any possible info.

"I still can't believe you guys would do something like that." Toffee stated, "You were always our best customers; respectful, honest, _and_ dependable."

"We didn't do it though!" Hayner shouted, "We're totally innocent and we're going to prove it."

"I see…" Tart replied.

"You've got to believe us!" Keydan pleaded, "If you've seen anything or have anything that could help us find the real crooks, we'd appreciate it."

"Well, I'm not sure about here, but maybe Xia noticed something over at her arcade." Tart answered, "Not sure if anything will come of that though."

"Thanks guys." Roxas stated with a nod, "We'll find the real culprits!"

"It still doesn't make any sense though." Keydan stated as the group walked over to Xia's arcade on the other side of town, "How do you simultaneously erase - and then steal photos of those accomplishments from every arcade in town?"

The group looked at Keydan, scratched their heads, and shrugged their shoulders before turning the corner and entering Xia's arcade.

TT: Captivating Gaming

"I heard what's going on guys." Xia stated, seeing the group walk in, "I don't want to believe it, but Seifer has some strong pull around here."

"Yeah, he's backed us into a bit of a rut." Keydan admitted, "But if you've got any info that's usuable, it'd be appreciated."

"Well, I did notice some strange things happening recently." Xia stated with a nod, "Weird noises when I'm alone in the arcade, things moving, and just this eerie presence."

"Creepy; are you saying this place is haunted?" Olette asked.

"Not really that cause I don't think it's a ghost; it seems like a real person thing but it can hide itself well." Xia answered, "And there seems to be more than one of them."

"Well, we'll try and keep a lookout for these people things." Pence replied, "Thanks for the tips Xia."

After looking over the arcade for any other clues, our group headed toward the exit when a familiar voice caught their attention.

"Heh, how appropriate; returning to the scene of the crime I see." Seifer stated, pointing at Keydan and the group.

"You punk! You know we didn't do this!" Keydan shouted.

"Heh, yeah right. Maybe if you beg I'll let it go." Seifer stated.

"Like you'd get that out of us." Hayner stated, before seeing Roxas get on his knees, "Roxas?"

"Dude, don't give him the satisfaction!" Keydan shouted, "You want to settle this? Then let's play a round of DDR. You could never take me anyway you punk ass wannabe."

"Hmph, let's go then!" Seifer stated, pulling out a dollar bill.

After a spirited battle, Keydan came out on top yet again and didn't spare gloating about it.

"You won't ever outplay me. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever." Keydan stated with a grin.

"Huh…we'll find out at the tournament; that'll be the deciding factor." Seifer grumbled, limping off to lick his wounds.

"Hey, Keydan; look this way." Pence stated, lining up his camera to take a picture of his victory.

After striking a pose and having his picture taken, a strange white creature came flying out of the machine and jacked both the camera and all the photos.

"The thief?" Olette shouted.

"I'm on it!" Keydan shouted, running off after…whatever the hell that thing was.

"Keydan wait! We don't know what it's capable of." Roxas shouted, chasing after him.

"It's like it wants me to follow it." Keydan mumbled to himself, running through the square towards the crumbled wall entrance to the outlying wooded area, "I don't like the feel of this."

"Keydan!" Roxas shouted, finally catching up with him, "Dude, slow down."

"Roxas? What are you doing here?" Keydan asked, seeing his friend obviously out of breath.

"Figured you'd need…some back up." Roxas panted, tossing Keydan a Struggle baton, "It looks like it's heading towards the old abandoned arcade."

"I think you're right. Not sure how much use these old things will be though." Keydan stated as the two of them began making their way out of the woods, "Let's be prepared for anything."

The Mansion Arcade

"Man this place is opulent looking; you could almost say it's Solid Gold." Keydan chuckled, "No wonder they couldn't stay open; it must've cost a fortune to stay operating."

"Hey! Look! There it is!" Roxas shouted, pointing towards the locked front gate, "Stop right there you thief."

Approaching the creature, Keydan noted that it seemed to lack any kind of real face and had a strange icon on it's forehead.

'What is that?' he thought before a voice seem to come from the creature.

'We have come for you my lieges.'

"Huh?" Roxas stated, "What the hell does that mean?"

As if in response to his question, the creatures head zipped open revealing the bottom half of it's face before more creatures like him appeared; it was at this point that they began to attack our duo.

"Whoa! What the hell?" Keydan shouted, dodging their attacks and smacking them with his bat, "Dammit! I knew this thing would be worthless!"

"What are we supposed to do!" Roxas shouted, "We can't stop them."

'Sure could use a miracle about now.' Keydan thought before a strange light overtook his bat, "That's definitely something different."

After the light show finished itself, Keydan's bat now appeared to be a giant key…with a blade made of light.

"What is this thing?" Keydan stated, before the object started twitching in his hand and pointing at the creature, "Can I…use this?"

"Keydan, look out!" Roxas shouted, slashing a creature to bits that was jumping towards him, "Look, I don't know where the keys came from but we can figure that out later."

Snapping out of his daze, Keydan nodded and began to help Roxas beat back the remaining creatures.

After defeating the final one, Keydan and Roxas' weapons turned back into their bats, leaving them to wonder just what that was all about.

Noticing something flutter to the ground, Keydan bent down to take a look.

"Hey, the photos of the records!" Keydan stated, picking them up, "Hey, I can say records again!"

"Let's get back to the others." Roxas replied, picking up the rest of them as the two took off back towards the Usual Spot.

The Usual Spot

After explaining what happened, the group looked at the pictures to try and figure out why they were the ones taken.

"What's this?" Hayner asked, pointing at a picture of Keydan with a guy with purple hair.

"Oh, I was Siren's first customer when he opened up his music store." Keydan explained, "He was sentimental about it, so we took a picture."

"Okay, but how do we prove we didn't do it then if the thief vanished?" Pence suggested.

"Don't know." Roxas replied, "Hey, this one's you with a girl; you look happy."

"Peh, do not." Keydan huffed, lifting up his glasses.

"Did anyone else think it's weird that Keydan's in all these photos?" Olette questioned.

"What? Really?" Keydan asked in turn, shuffling through the photos, "Yeah, even the one of all of us in front of The Mansion."

"Maybe…they wanted to steal the real Keydan." Hayner stated.

"Yeah right; who'd want some egotistical nut like him?" Roxas replied with a laugh.

"Hey; my wit is both charming and economical. You're just jealous." Keydan jabbed back with a laugh of his own.

With that, the group headed back home for the night, the day's adventure coming to a close.

As Keydan and Roxas were walking back down the street, a bright light shined in their eyes.

"What the?" Keydan stated before his vision went black, "What's going on?"

"Where am I?" an unknown voice asked.

"Who's there?" Keydan replied.

"Who are you?" the unknown voice replied back before there was silence.

When Keydan was able to open his eyes again, he saw that Roxas was gone and somehow he'd made it back to his house.

"That was really weird…who was that guy?" he mumbled before heading inside, "I'm home."

?

'Restoration at 12%'

"Organization miscreants…they've found us." Stated a woman dressed heavy blue and black armor, all but her eyes covered.

"Why would they steal records and pictures of them as well?" stated a familiar, cloaked figure, "It doesn't make sense."

"They're both data to them; the fools could never tell the difference." The woman replied, "We're running out of time; Jessica must make haste."

"Okay, but what about that other fellow? Roxas?" the cloaked figure questioned.

"As you know, we created a simulation of Twilight Town; however, the figures from the one in our reality weren't stable." The woman answered back, "So I cheated and pulled a favor from the author; when he heard what I needed he was more than happy to oblige."

"Even you succumb to cheating." The cloaked figure sighed, walking off.

Hey, look! It's another little hodge-podge of scenes that seem lazy to avoid but also seem lazy to add to pad the story! Those scenes from the first DDR HEARTS sure were exciting, weren't they?

TT: ~The Second Stage ~

Keydan tossed in turned in his bed as his dreams wrought havoc with his thoughts.

"Ack!" he shouted, sitting up in bed, "A Key…saber?"

After shaking his head to clear it, Keydan got dressed and headed towards the Usual Spot.

Along the way, he was mumbling to himself about Keysabers and picked up a stick, waving it around before tossing it back over his shoulder.

Unfortunately for him, it bounced off the chest of a cloaked figure who seemed a tad unamused about it.

"Sorry…" Keydan apologized, rubbing the back of his head in shame.

The Usual Spot

After walking in and getting an ice cream bar from Hayner, the group sat enjoying their time.

"Do you guys think we'll always be together like this?" Roxas asked.

"Where did that come from?" Keydan replied, "You know we will."

"Well, it's just, you know, thinking out loud I guess." Roxas mumbled, going back to eating his ice cream.

"I doubt we can be together forever." Hayner stated, "It's a part of growing up, right? It's not how often we see each other, but how often we think of each other."

"You pull that off of some bad fanfic?" Keydan laughed, before coughing as his ice cream went down the wrong pipe.

"Heh, that's what you get." Roxas chuckled, "No more for you."

"Something still feels off though." Hayner grumbled, "I think its cause we don't want summer vacation to end."

"Well, how about we go to the beach then?" Roxas offered, "I'm sure Rich wouldn't mind seeing us again over at Beach Gameland."

"Yeah, it's been awhile since we annoyed DJ Mindtrick." Keydan chuckled.

"That sounds like fun." Olette added, "How about it Hayner?"

"Yeah! Let's do that! We can take the train there." Hayner replied, "So let's go!"

Walking after his friends, Keydan saw them standing over by a poster advertising a tournament that was upcoming at Xia's arcade.

"Just two days." Roxas stated, "We're going to clean up at thing! We'll make the finals no problem with your skills!"

"Damn straight!" Keydan chuckled, "Then we can all split the prize!"

"Okay, we need to focus on how we're going to pay for this trip guys." Olette declared, "How much do we have combined?"

Gathering whatever money they had in their pockets, Olette took it and counted that they had about $50.

"If we want to really enjoy this trip, we'd probably want $200, but I think we could get away if we scrape together $120." Olette explained, "Well, let's get working then!"

After watching his friend head off trying to find some part time jobs, Keydan snuck off back to his house and into his room.

"I was saving this up for the new IIDX LE that was coming out, but I can always get that later." Keydan quipped to himself, pulling out what was easily $200 plus in cash, "We'll have a lot of fun with this…and that's what matters."

Leaving his house, Keydan headed back towards his friends and called them over to show them the good news.

"Holy Crap! Where'd you get that kind of scratch?" Roxas shouted.

"I've been saving it up for something, but I figured it be better enjoyed this way…with you guys." Keydan explained.

"Keydan, this is really awesome!" Hayner shouted in excitement, "Now we can enjoy the whole day there!"

"Well, what are we waiting for then?" Pence asked, "Let's get going!"

At the train station, Olette took their money to go buy some tickets while the guys waited in the lobby.

"We won't be together forever, so we need to make the most of what time we still have." Roxas commented to Keydan.

"Huh? What does that mean?" Keydan questioned, looking at Roxas, "You okay buddy?"

"Heh, you know it." Roxas replied with a grin, "Olette's signaling us, so we'd better get going."

"Heh, yeah, she gets pretty uppity when we make her wait." Keydan joked as he walked on to the train with the others.

As the train chugged down the tracks, the group talked about what they were going to do and who was going to beat who at what games.

"You couldn't ever touch me on IIDX and you know it Hayner." Keydan laughed.

"One of us will beat you one day." Hayner jabbed back, "You can't stay on top forever."

"Now DDR, that's one where I'm almost as good as you." Roxas commented, "You better watch it, or all those Double scores of yours will be mine soon."

"Keep dreaming checkerboard boy." Keydan chuckled, "I could beat you with my hands behind my back."

""Checkerboard boy?"" Roxas scoffed, "At least I don't wear a heavy leather jacket at all times of the year."

"You know you're just jealous because it gives me style." Keydan snapped back, "And the ladies are all over me, right Olette?"

"Leave me out of this." Olette stated, causing the whole group to laugh.

However, this moment of peace was upended as the train began to shake and then stop suddenly, sending everyone flying forward.

"Ow. What gives?" Pence asked from the bottom of the pile.

"I don't know; maybe something is on the tracks." Roxas offered, hopping off the top of the pile and helping the others up.

"I'll go find out what's the matter, stay here guys." Keydan stated, walking through the cars to find the source of the trouble.

Outside, someone had completely wiped out the tracks making any more progress impossible.

"What the hell?" Keydan murmured to himself, "What could've done something like that?"

Trying his best to look at the damage marks on the ends of the track that remained, Keydan noticed that it almost appeared to have been melted.

"Could this have been done by…a Keysaber?" he murmured before hearing his friends calling him.

"Oh goodness! What a mess." Olette stated, gasping at the damage, "I guess there goes our trip."

"Sorry guys; I know how much this would've meant." Keydan apologized.

"It's not your fault buddy." Roxas stated, consoling his friend, "You made it even possible to get this far."

"Yeah, so don't get so bummed out." Hayner added.

"Everyone's right Keydan." Pence stated, before gasping at a cloaked stranger that suddenly grasped Keydan, "Where did he come from!"

After mumbling something to Keydan that only he could hear, he hijacked Olette's money pouch and vanished from sight

"What was all that about?" Roxas questioned.

"Can you feel Ryan and Dark?" Keydan mumbled, "That's what he asked me."

?

'Restoration at 28%'

"Jessica, hurry!"

"Was it really that hard to make that arcade?" the cloaked figure asked, "What do we do with the money you had me hijack?"

"It'd be yet another entry point for the enemy." Stated the female figure, "As for the money, we could always get some ice cream."

The female figure laughed at her own joke as she turned around to look at the cloaked figure.

"Items from that world must be kept out of the real one." She stated, "You can delete that."

With that, the scene fades out as we see a bizarre looking machine.

We're at yet another mix-up of key scenes from DDR HEARTS? Which part is it now? Ah, a nice mix mash of all the friends Ryan and the group met throughout their adventures in that story. Ah, this trip down memory road is so nostalgic.

TT: ~The Third Stage ~

As Keydan dreamed, he saw an image of a brown-haired girl dressed in a plain pair of jeans and a yellow t-shirt.

"Who are you?" he asked, receiving only a smile in response when he woke up.

Waking up, Keydan was startled as he thought he saw someone in his room.

"Huh?" Keydan gasped, before looking around and seeing no one there, "Am I losing my mind?"

Getting dressed and trying to push the thoughts from his mind, Keydan headed towards the Usual Spot when he bumped into Pence and Olette.

"Hey." The two greeted, before freezing in their steps.

"Uh, guys?" Keydan asked, running his hand in front of their faces, "Hello?"

Suddenly, the girl from his dreams appeared in front of him, startling him and causing him to fall backwards.

"What gives? Where did you pop out from?" Keydan demanded.

"Hello Keydan." The girl replied, "I wanted to meet you at least once."

"What does that mean?" Keydan wondered as she walked off and time started again.

"Olette dragged me off shopping." Pence stated.

"You want to come with us?" Olette asked.

"Uh…didn't you guys see…that girl?" Keydan questioned, "Am I going crazy?"

"If you don't want to come, you don't have to put up an act." Olette huffed, "We'll see you later then Keydan."

After walking off, Keydan stared into the sunset, thinking and wondering.

'Did she head towards that old arcade?' Keydan thought, before running off.

TT: The Woods

After chasing the girl, who seemed to be able to teleport at the speed she was going, Keydan was stopped by a portal before more of those white things appeared.

"What the? Not you guys again!" Keydan sighed, before having to shrug off one that grabbed a hold of him, "Hey! Hands of the merchandise bud!"

Breaking free of its grip, Keydan ran off towards Xia's arcade.

TT: Captivating Gaming

Running by, Keydan stopped after hearing someone call out his name.

"That's right, chicken wuss! Where's the fire?" Seifer demanded, before seeing the creatures chasing him, "No one causes trouble in my town! Grab a weapon!"

Seeing a nearby Struggle bat, Keydan grabbed a hold of it and took a stance.

"This thing is pretty much worthless." Keydan sighed as he started attacking the creatures.

"What kind of trouble did you stir up here?" Seifer commented before freezing in place.

"Not again! This isn't good at all!" Keydan grunted, tossing the Struggle bat away.

"Keydan! Use the Keysaber!"

Looking around for the source of the voice, Keydan saw the girl from before.

Not knowing what or how he was supposed to do this, all he could do was throw his hands in front of himself as the creature attacked him…and was then knocked back as a flash of light appeared, blinding him.

TT: Station of Serenity

Opening his eyes, Keydan blinked a few times before realizing he was on a large platform again, one from his dreams.

"This place…is familiar." He stated, seeing images of our heroes plastered on the screen of a well-known machine, "What am I supposed to do here?"

"Disc, Arrow, or Guitar? Which shall you choose?"

"What? Who said that? What kind of question is that?" Keydan sighed, seeing three items floating, "And why do they all have some connection to Bemani?"

"Look, I'm just a freaking disembodied voice! Pick a damn item and get on with your story!"

"Well…that was unexpected." Keydan sputtered, before choosing the disc, "Fine! Now what?"

As if in response to his question, the creatures that were being kept at bay slowly approached him; their sights set on capturing Keydan.

However, Keydan was not totally defenseless as his choice yielded him a Keysaber…and the ability to fight back.

"Now we're talking!" Keydan shouted, slashing and dashing at the oddly moving creatures, "You guys don't know when to quit!"

After taking the group down and catching his breath, an ominous door soon appeared.

"Guess I've got to go forward to go back." Keydan quipped, opening the door and entering yet another room stylized like the previous one, "When does this end?"!

"Don't stop walking…"

"Oh will you shut the hell up!" Keydan yelled at the disembodied voice, "Bloody bossy twit!"

TT: Station of Calling

After fighting through more creatures, gaining a level or two, some potions, and a rare, 10th-dimensional key that doesn't bear any meaning on this story, Keydan came across a large variant of the platforms devoid of any enemies.

"Oh, this gives me all sorts of unpleasant feelings in my tummy…and other regions." Keydan mumbled, before sensing something, "Who's there?"

Turning around, Keydan caught a glimpse of a cloaked figure before a large, white creature like the others began to stand forth and unfurl its many scarf-like appendages.

"What the fudge are you?" Keydan demanded, causing the huge creature to stare at him, "Oh, well….um…do you have a quarter?"

Obviously not amused, the creature stood there as Keydan began to sweat it out.

"Fine! I'll just have to take you down!" Keydan shouted, pulling out his Keysaber and starting to hit its legs, "Have at you, foul beast!"

After being bound, smacked around, and hurled towards a deadly ball of energy that was somehow reflectable by key made of pure energy, Keydan took down the deadly beast.

"Bet you wish you'd given me that quarter now, eh?" Keydan chuckled, before sighing as the creature collapsed into darkness on him, threatening to pull him down with it.

"Ugh!" Keydan shouted, before feeling a hand take a hold of his.

?

Looking around, Keydan noticed he was in a very white room, devoid of practically all color.

Upon seeing the girl from before, he went to say something but was shushed by her.

"My name is Jessica." Jessica stated, "Keydan…do you remember your true name?"

"My true name?" Keydan questioned, "Like that guy….what's with this name game?"

"Quiet Jessica." Shouted the cloaked fellow from before, "It's best if he doesn't know the truth…even if I feel he should."

"Wait…you're that guy from the train!" Keydan shouted, "You jacked our money!"

Waving his hand, the cloaked fellow opened a portal of darkness, walked over to Keydan, and shoved him in.

"I'm sorry it has to be this way…" the figure lamented as the portal closed, "As for you Jessica…she's going to be pissed about this."

"Yeah, I know…what else is new?" Jessica sighed.

TT: Captivating Gaming

"Ugh…where am I?" Keydan moaned, waking up and hearing Seifer talking, "What are you blabbing on about now?"

"Those guys in the white suits are gone; if they know what they're doing they'll stay away." Seifer stated, "I'd hate to use any "disciplinary measures.""

"Oh yes, God forbid we have to suffer through anymore of that." Keydan sighed, before seeing his friends out of the corner of his eye, "Hey guys!"

Seeing Keydan with Seifer, Roxas and the group got the wrong idea and headed off; Roxas obviously misreading what was going on.

"Guys! Wait up! It's not what it looks like!" Keydan shouted, chasing after them, "Dammit all!"

"No chickening out tomorrow, you got that?" Seifer shouted as Keydan ran off.

"Stupid bastard." Keydan mumbled, "This is more important than some tournament."

The Usual Spot

After catching up with the others, Keydan pleaded his case about what happened.

"You seriously expect us to believe some crazy story like that?" Hayner responded, "You must think we're nuts."

"It would go with what happened two days ago though, with the records thief." Olette interjected, "Still…"

"Come on guys! You know I wouldn't flake like that!" Keydan shouted, "Roxas? Buddy? You believe me don't you!"

"…" Roxas thought, staring at his melting ice cream, "I do, actually. You may be crazy, but that tale doesn't sound too far-fetched for you."

"Roxas." Keydan responded with a smile, "We may have missed out on the beach, but tomorrow…"

"Right…tomorrow you two are going to clean up!" Pence shouted, "We'll show Seifer some little tricks won't break up our group!"

"Now that's the spirit!" Keydan shouted, "Let's go get some practice in over at The Spinning Pecan!"

With a huzzah, the group headed over to the arcade and practiced long into the night, knowing that their promise was going to be kept…

?

'Restoration at 48%'

"Was that version of Jessica made of data?" the cloaked figure asked.

"No, she hijacked the data stream itself." Replied the armored female, "She's more trouble than she's worth."

"We need her though…to fix what happened." The cloaked figure replied.

"I know, but still…she's beginning to make a mess of things." The female answered back, "If Keydan was to figure out the truth beforehand…things could get very messy."

"What about that Roxas data though? It's starting to show some irregularities." The cloaked figure stated, "Are you sure this system is really as useful as you think?"

"It is…it is. We'll just have to keep an eye on Roxas." She replied, "Now, go patrol or something; I need to be alone right now."

Nodding silently, the cloaked figure made his leave and left the women to her devices.

'Could I have been wrong? Roxas…Keydan…I hope I'm doing the right thing.' She thought as the scene faded out from her.

Huh? You guys are back here again? Well, I think there's still some wrap-up footage here we can splice in…yep, their battle back at Hollow Bastion, the mind-games they had to endure, and then sealing up the keyhole there and wondering if they'd see Leon and the gang again. There you go, next part done! Woooooooo!

TT: ~The Fourth Stage ~

Slowly coming too, Keydan yawned and looked around his room before sighing.

"Ugh, we practiced too much." Keydan groaned, "But, I've got a promise to keep."

Getting dressed and heading down the street, Keydan began to psyche himself up for the big tournament.

TT: Captivating Gaming

A large crowd had gathered for what would no doubt be one of the biggest Bemani tournaments Twilight Town had ever seen, what with three of the top players in town going against each other in the finals.

"So, who are you rooting for?" Pence asked Hayner.

"Roxas, who else?" Hayner responded.

"But I'm rooting for Keydan." Pence shot back.

"Roxas."

"Keydan."

"Roxas!"

"Keydan!"

"ROXAS!"

"KEYDAN!"

"Boys!" Olette interjected, "We can root for both of them you know."

"Oh yeah, right." The two admitted as the contestants made their entrance.

"Welcome everyone to the hottest gaming tournament this side of the planet!" Xia shouted, "That's right! Bemani, Bemani, D-D-D-Dance! Who will move those beats and take on our champion, Alice?"

Alice just waved to the crowd and flashed a smile all while looking like she didn't even care to be here.

"That unjustly popular bimbo." Keydan remarked, "I can't wait to knock her down a peg."

"Someone sounds a little bitter." Roxas joked, "And just who said you'll be the one to take her down?"

"You chicken wussies won't stand a chance against me anyway; I'll be taking that title like I rightfully should." Seifer commented, overly cocky as usual.

"What about your wingman over there?" Roxas gestured towards Vivi, who was standing over by himself, "He seems to have gotten better than usual…"

"Hmph…no one gets in my way." Seifer murmured, walking off.

"And now, let's get ready for our first combatants; these two are the top of their game and some of the best double players seen in a long time." Xia stated, "Let's give it up for Roxas and Keydan!"

"Heh, I won't take it easy on you just cause you're my buddy, you know?" Keydan laughed.

"I wouldn't want you to anyway! I want to win that trophy fair and square." Roxas replied, "That way I have full reason to rub it in your face!"

"Ooooh, some harsh words from the close friends!" Xia stated, "How will this all turn out? Let's Dance!"

After randomly selecting the song, the two friends took their positions on the linked machines and faced off.

"Heh, your moves are stale." Keydan stated, doing a shuffle move from one side of the pad to the other, "Give it up Roxas!"

"Is that all you got?" Roxas spat back, doing a number of bar spins before hitting the arrows while facing the crowd, "Today is the day I finally beat your records!"

Spurred on by this, Keydan busted out a freestyle routine that brought the crowd to a gasp as he incorporated back flips and handstands into his arrow hitting.

'When did he get this good?' Roxas thought as he started panting, 'Damn these long versions; my stamina is no where near as good as his.'

Roxas struggled valiantly to match Keydan's moves, pulling off spins, handstands, and shuffles to gain the crowd's support…but it just was too little, too late as Roxas finally couldn't keep up and collapsed on the pad.

"And that's it!" Xia shouted, taking Keydan's hand and raising it up, "We have a winner; friendship won't stop his competitive spirit!"

"Dammit!" Roxas panted, hitting his fist on the pad, "I lost; I almost had you!"

"Heh, almost…you'll get there soon enough though." Keydan chuckled, helping Roxas up, "Let's get you something to drink, you look exhausted."

"That sounds good to me." Roxas replied with a grin, "Something to soothe my ego."

"Out of the way chicken wuss." Seifer grumbled, pushing Roxas to the side.

"In a hurry to lose punk?" Keydan quipped, before jumping back at Vivi's sudden appearance next to him, "What the…something is wrong with this picture."

Vivi merely laughed as he and Seifer took their places on the pad as Roxas and Keydan stepped off the stage.

"Don't fight your elders." Seifer coldly stated, "You'll get hurt if you do."

"I guess Seifer didn't expect…hell, nobody expected Vivi to make it this far!" Xia enthusiastically stated, "Will the boss take the win or will the pupil come even further than possible? Here we go!"

After their song was determined, the two of them took their positions and started showing off their moves.

While Seifer's were his usual repertoire, Vivi was sporting some crazy moves that just owned Seifer's.

"When did Vivi learn to DDR like that?" Roxas questioned.

"I don't know…something seems wrong about this." Keydan mumbled.

Seeing Vivi stumble, Seifer took it as his moment to bust out his finishing move…but he never got to use it as he caught himself on the trick bar and ended up doing a nutcracker impression.

Vivi, sensing victory was his, pulled out all the stops and owned the machine, displaying skill far above what he should be able to do.

"I…I don't know what occurred here, but Vivi is the winner." Xia declared, "Even I didn't expect this win."

"Ugh…that's not Vivi." Seifer commented to Keydan, limping off the stage slowly, "I'm not sure he's even human."

"What?" Roxas replied.

"Destroy his routine." Seifer stated, limping away from the crowd.

"Seifer withdrew from the tournament, so third place is yours Roxas." Xia explained to him.

"Third? Sweet." Roxas replied, "Take first Keydan! Show Vivi we won't be intimidated!"

"Right." Keydan answered back, staring at Vivi.

"This is it! The final match you've waited for: Keydan versus Vivi for the right to face Alice in the Championship match!" Xia shouted.

Alice gave a wave to the crowd as her numerous fanboys fainted from her smiling face.

"God she's so self-absorbed." Keydan sighed, "Let's go Vivi; after I beat you I'm taking her down!"

Their song determined, the two competitors began to break out their best routines and moves, neither one giving the other an inch.

"You aren't going to win this Vivi!" Keydan shouted, pulling off a controversial Matrix Walk move and doing a full 360 around the bars to really pump up the crowd.

Vivi, undaunted, pulled off an equally impressive move that really fired the crowd up.

"That's it!" Keydan shouted, pulling out all the stops and showing off a move so impressive that time seemed to stand still, "Wait…time is standing still. Not this shit again."

Noticing that Vivi was still moving as well, Keydan slowly approached but then backed off as he began to glow.

"Again?" Keydan asked as Vivi turned into the white creatures, and he again acquired the Keysaber, "Again…"

After beating them back, which wore him out given the moves he'd been pulling off, Keydan noticed a nearby clapping sound.

Searching for the source, Keydan found it coming from hooded man behind him.

"All right Keydan. Fight! Fight! Fight!" the hooded man stated, walking over to him.

"You sound different from the other guy." Keydan quipped, "What's going on here?"

"So they were right; you really don't remember me." The hooded man stated, pulling back his hood revealing a shock of red hair and red goggles, "It's me, Tekka."

"Tekka?" Keydan asked in confusion, "What's going on here?"

"Heh, even the Dusks won't break this; blank with a capital B for sure." Tekka sighed, pulling up two disk-shaped objects with a fiery pulse, "This is her creation, so we don't have time to chat. I'm taking you with me conscious or not."

Keydan at this point had had enough and flung his Keysaber at the ground, only for it to pop back into his hand.

Noticing the area wavering slightly, Tekka became agitated and took a fighting stance.

"Uh-oh, I'm running out of time!" Tekka shouted, "I'll tell you the story later after we're done."

"You'll answer me now dammit!" Keydan screamed, "What is with this thing?"

"Number 13. Keydan. The Keysaber's chosen one." Tekka stated, waving his weapons back and forth.

"Okay, fine! You want to fight then; I'll give you it in spades!" Keydan shouted, charging at Tekka.

"I want some answers!" Keydan shouted, charging Tekka and slashing furiously at him.

"Whoa, you've got to calm down Keydan." Tekka stated, dodging his moves and knocking him back, "You don't want to burn out too fast, do you?"

"Ugh." Keydan grunted, regaining his balance and then dodging a trail of fire Tekka had thrown at him, "Who are you?"

"I'll make you remember somehow buddy." Tekka explained, throwing his weapons at Keydan.

Sprinting, Keydan quickly darted around and under his discs and planted a kick upside Tekka's head.

"Ow…not bad Keydan." Tekka groaned, calling back his discs and spinning them rapidly, "Burn, baby, burn!"

Keydan suddenly found himself surrounded by a ring of fire without a way out.

"Talk about going from the frying pan into the fire." Keydan murmured, "This won't stop me though."

Using the nearby DDR machine as leverage, Keydan managed to vault over the flames and wallop a stunned Tekka.

"Keydan…" Tekka moaned as he was knocked back, clutching his side.

Before the two could get anymore blows in, a mysterious armored woman suddenly appeared in a beam of light.

"It was you then…." Tekka grunted, powering up his discs and throwing them at her, only for them to bounce off.

"This man is lying to you; you mustn't believe him." The woman stated, "He wishes to lead you astray."

"Who the hell are you? My mother?" Keydan scoffed, "What is it with everyone talking nonsense today?"

"Keydan!" Tekka shouted, "Don't listen to him!"

"Keydan!" the woman shouted as well.

"Ugh…Hayner…Pence…Olette…Roxas!" Keydan shouted, grabbing his head before a flash of light blinded his eyes.

Opening his eyes, Keydan was surprised to be back on his machine, Vivi apparently collapsed with him the victor.

"I'm not sure what we just witnessed this time, but…I know how this looks!" Xia exclaimed, "Keydan is the winner and top DDRist!"

As Vivi came too and slowly walked off as if nothing was the matter, Keydan's friends came over to congratulate him.

"Way to go Keydan!" Hayner shouted, patting him on the back.

"…" Roxas wordlessly stated.

"Something wrong buddy?" Keydan asked with a grin.

"Nope! Everything's how it should be with one of us the winner!" Roxas responded, giving Keydan a thumbs-up. 

"And now, we have the championship match between the ever lovely Alice and the hometown favorite Keydan! Who will face defeat and who will be the one that 'Just Got Splash Beats'!" Xia shouted, but was drowned out by all the fanboys, and fangirls, chanting her name and pretty much obsessing over her.

"Hey there big boy." Alice smoothly stated at Keydan, "If you let me win I'm sure I can find some way to repay you."

Smirking and looking at Alice up and down, Keydan seemed to be considering it for a moment before shaking his head.

"How much of a skank are you?" Keydan chuckled, "You really think that'd work on me? I'm not one of your sad, pathetic fanboys after all."

"What?" Alice gasped in shock, "I'm afraid I didn't catch that; just how could you pass up all this? Regardless, whatever you think is right is wrong…big mistake."

"This is it folks! Bragging rights till next year's tournament to the winner of this match!" Xia shouted, appearing as if she'd explode from the excitement, "Bemani, Bemani, D-D-D-D-Dance it on!"

As the song started, Alice barely made any moves, expecting Keydan to cave to her will and forfeit the match to her; however, looking over at Keydan proved this to be incorrect as he was busting out all his mad skills.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be!" Alice grunted, stepping up her game, "How can you defy me like this?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Keydan huffed as he pulled off a chain of bar spins, "I'm not some mindless fool…who puts someone…on a unjust plateau."

Alice saw flames at Keydan's harsh words and began to get erratic, her anger causing her to not think and throwing off her timing.

By that point, the mental portion of the match had been decided and pulling out his finishing move, Keydan sealed the physical match as well.

"Keydan! Keydan!"

Though Keydan loved the adulation the crowd was giving him, he was more pleased that he finally brought Alice some well needed humiliation.

Alice, for her part, did her best to control her temper while walking off, but the shouts of the crowd finally got to her as she stomped her feet in disgust.

"You did it Keydan!" Roxas shouted, high-fiving him, "I guess all that training I gave you paid off."

"You? Heh…" Keydan laughed in response, "Keep dreaming Checky."

"Checky?" Roxas shouted, before laughing as well as the crowd continued their cheers for Keydan.

After accepting the championship plaque and a commerative necklace for the event, Keydan took the trophy and retired with his friends to a secluded part of town, away from the noise and distractions the crowd provided.

"I told you we'd win guys." Keydan joked, taking the trophy and tossing a part of it to each of them, "And we'd all share the prize."

After staring at the reflection the ever-present twilight cast on their specifics treasures, Olette pulled out a surprise of her own…ice cream!

"Who doesn't like ice cream?" Keydan stated, taking his bar and munching on it, "Hooray for ice cream! And Olette!"

"You never change, do you?" Olette asked with a laugh as the others took their ice cream.

Standing up to take his, Roxas lost his footing and began to fall from the perch the group had been sitting on.

"Roxas!" Keydan shouted, reaching out for him and grabbing hold of his hand, "Don't let go!"

Clutching to the edge with his free hand, Keydan struggled to maintain his grip as the others rushed to help them.

However, it was too little too late as his hand gave way and both Roxas and Keydan began to fall towards the street below.

Faraway, before this adventure had begun…

"You've got to snap out of this." Sonic stated, seeing Charmy depressed yet again, "He'll come back…you know he will."

"I know, I just…I wish I could remember his name." Charmy sighed, "How do you forget something important like that?"

"Hey, some weird stuff happened to us before we got sent back home, so it doesn't surprise me we can't remember his name." Shadow replied, "He's our friend as well; we just have to believe."

"You're right…" Charmy started, before grabbing her head in pain and collapsing…

Back at Twilight Town

'This isn't going to be good.' Keydan thought as he and Roxas were falling, 'Jessica…what's going on?'

'Who are you?' Charmy asked, 'That's not my name, I'm Charmy…but what's wrong?'

'Charmy…you're the one he likes.' Keydan thought back, 'He's a lucky guy…'

'Who are you though?' Charmy pleaded.

'I'm Keydan.' Keydan replied.

'Okay, Keydan…but can you tell me his name? Please…I need to know.' Charmy sighed, desperation in her voice.

'Jeez Charmy, I know it's been a year or so, but you forgot my name.' stated a familiar voice, 'I feel so special now.'

'Please…I need to know.' Charmy repeated with a gasp at hearing his voice, 'You know you're special to me.'

'Well, I guess I can give you one hint. It starts with an 'R'.' the voice replied.

'Hey, don't I get any say in this too?' stated another familiar voice, 'Jeez…why must I always play second fiddle.'

At this point, the scene faded white before Keydan and Roxas hit the ground…

Faraway, before the adventure began…

Helping Charmy up, Sonic made sure she was okay before asking her what the hell just happened to her.

"I remember…" Charmy replied, "Come on, I need to send something."

Rushing off and leaving Sonic and Shadow thoroughly confused, events transpired that will lead to the events in the beginning of this story…and possibly affect the ending as well.

?

'Restoration at 79%'

"His progress…it's something I couldn't possibly have imagined." The mysterious woman stated, "I'm beginning to have doubts about what I've done."

"What happened though?" the cloaked figure asked, "How did he connect with Charmy like that?"

"Because of that Jessica's constant meddling, Keydan's heart resonated with Charmy's…and they connected across the cosmos." The woman explained, "Hence why Ryan and Dark reacted how they did."

"That's something else…figures he'd be linked with something as crazy as that." The cloaked figure stated with a laugh, "Nothing's ever normal with him. However, one thing still bugs me…"

"Which is?" she asked.

"Who's Nobody is she? From what I can tell, she came about through an odd way…so; even though it's obvious she can tweak and mess with Ryan and Dark's memories, I can't pinpoint an answer to that question." The figure admitted, "Leave it to Ryan to confuse me at all turns…how typical."

"I could tell you that…but, who are you exactly?" the woman admitted, "Why are you helping with all this?"

Sighing, the figure pulled back his hood to reveal a slightly changed visage.

"It's Yoshino." Yoshino stated, staring blankly at the women.

Hearing this, the women could do naught but laugh and mention how much of an honor it was to meet him.

TT: ~The Final Stage ~

Keydan could feel himself falling, plummeting towards some unknown fate…before slowing and being stopped by someone.

"Roxas?" Keydan mumbled, seeing what appeared to be Roxas dressed in different clothing.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be truthful with you before." Roxas admitted, sighing as he spoke, "I hope you find an ending on par with mine. I'm glad I got to know you…my analog."

"What? What are you going on about?" Keydan got out before seeing Roxas vanish from sight, "Roxas!"

Shooting up in his bed, Keydan noticed everything seemed the way it should be…but he still felt uneasy.

"Roxas…what was with that weird dream?" Keydan grumbled aloud, "And what was up with the black cloak?"

Deciding talking to him would yield the best answers, Keydan got dressed and headed off to meet the others.

The Usual Spot

Keydan walked in expecting his friends to be talking about what happened yesterday and instead saw Olette apparently getting on their cases.

"We've got three days left of summer vacation, so don't even start talking about that report." Hayner replied.

"Hey, aren't we going to wait for Roxas guys?" Keydan asked, sitting down on his usual chair.

"Roxas? Who the heck is that?" Pence asked, "You meet someone new?"

"What? Oh come on guys, quick joking." Keydan chuckled, "You know Roxas…about this high, wears goofy checkerboard clothing and has pointy blonde hair?"

"Can I have what you're smoking; because that is some crazy stuff you're spouting." Hayner answered back.

"I think you're just delaying because of the report." Olette huffed.

"I already did it when summer vacation started, you know I hate to procrastinate." Keydan sighed, "I don't mind saying it was a group project and sharing the work with you guys."

"First the money for the trip and then this…you're too much Keydan." Pence joked.

Laughing, Keydan almost forgot all about Roxas until Hayner brought up something.

"You know, things have been weird ever since the records got erased with you and the town." Hayner quipped, "And now this Roxas talk, are you trying to say we have a phantom friend?"

"I know what I remember…I wonder if that arcade has some answers." Keydan stated, drifting off into his thoughts.

Finally becoming too on edge, Keydan took off towards the Mansion arcade as his friends wondered about his well-being.

The Mansion Arcade

"Roxas…where did you go buddy?" Keydan thought aloud as he looked passed the locked gate, "What did you mean by what you said?"

Looking up at the windows of the mansion, Keydan was lost in thought about his missing friend till he noticed something moving in one of them.

Straining his eyes, Keydan could barely make out the outline of a girl before he felt something pulling at him…

?

Shaking his head and opening his eyes, Keydan noticed he was in a nearly pure-white room; the pictures covering the walls the only color visible.

"These pictures…why do they seem as if I should recognize them?" Keydan asked aloud before hearing his name, "Jessica?"

"Yes…that is you. Tekka as well." Jessica explained, pointing out a specific picture, "You two are friends after all."

"What? Get out of here…" Keydan scoffed, "But, then why do I feel as if it's true."

Looking at another drawing, Keydan recognized the three people pictured in it.

"Hey that's…Ryan, Dark, and Reps." Keydan stated, "What's going on though? They're from my dreams."

"A year ago…some stuff happened and Ryan and Dark's memories were altered by me." Jessica stated, "To make a long story short, some other things happened that the author will hopefully write about one day and now I'm fixing Ryan and Dark's memories."

"That would explain the dreams then…but where do I fit in all this?" Keydan questioned, "I don't think I'm going to like the answer."

"Well, they need you to be fully complete again. Basically you're two halves of the same whole." Jessica continued, "You're half of what they are."

"Yeah, knew I wouldn't like it. So, what? I'm just supposed to give up my life for these two nutballs?" Keydan scoffed, "Why?"

"Look, I'm just doing what I was told…I'm no happier about this than you are." Jessica sighed, "Nao is having me do this…I'm not sure what she's up to but…I'm sorry."

"I don't even feel like I have any idea what or who I am anymore." Keydan sighed, "What about Roxas?"

"Well…I'm not sure about him; I just know he's disappeared now." Jessica replied, "I'm sorry."

"I'll just have to keep looking then." Keydan exclaimed, "I won't let my friend disappear."

"But Keydan…there's something you should know." Jessica interjected, "You weren't really supposed to exist."

"…well, that's a hell of a buzzkill." Keydan groaned, "You know, just because something may be true doesn't mean it should necessarily be said."

"I'm sorry…I guess we always hurt those we care about." Jessica said before Keydan felt that weird pulling feeling again.

?

"What happened with that data version of Roxas?" Yoshino asked, walking up to Nao's chair.

"It seems what I felt in my heart was true; that version of Roxas created inconsistencies in the data Twilight Town." Nao lamented, "That's what I get for cutting corners."

"Do you know where it went then?" Yoshino asked, "It seems to really be hitting Keydan hard."

"I don't know and I'm not really caring; Keydan is a Nobody and his feelings, if he has any, are not my concern." Nao responded harshly, "Turning from that, are your memories beginning to fill in?"

"Yes, the haze is lifting; I assume that's because Ryan and Dark's memories are coming back?" Yoshi replied.

"Yes…pretty soon he'll be like a good friend who's been away for a year." Nao stated, "Now, we need to finish things for my goal."

"Your goal? What is it anyway?" Yoshino questioned, sitting down opposite of her.

"Revenge." Nao coldly replied, "Now, I need you to take care of Jessica; she's served her purpose but it's time for her to go. Keydan's not the only one who shouldn't exist."

'Revenge?' Yoshino thought, 'I'm not sure I can help with something like that.'

'Restoration at 94%'

TT: ~The Extra Stage ~

Hmmm, oh, it's you guys again. Well, I think there's still something left to show; just let me dig around for a second here. *noises of pain, grunts of work, and occasional swearing is heard as things are tossed around* Ah-ha! *insert clip of the end of DDR HEARTS and our heroes returning home* …what? You want more? Bah! Just keep reading buddy.

Keydan groaned as he tossed and turned, his mind still worried about his missing friend.

"Ugh…and no one remembers him." Keydan sighed, yawning as he slowly woke up, "I think while the others look for clues to what's been going on with me, I need to find Roxas somehow. I won't feel right till I find out what's going on."

Getting dressed, Keydan took off towards the Train Station, certain he would find the answers he was seeking for there.

On the way, Keydan didn't notice he was spotted by Olette, carrying something towards the Usual Spot.

'Odd, where is he going in such a rush?' Olette thought, 'I'd better tell the others.'

TT: Train Station

"Okay, I'm here; but what am I looking for?" Keydan questioned, looking for any hints to finding his friend.

Combing the entire area as best he could, Keydan couldn't turn up a single clue about where to go next.

"Now I know why I don't play detective point and click games." Keydan sighed, before hearing a strange whistle blow nearby, "What the hell?"

Walking over to the second, unused line of tracks Keydan noticed a strange, blue and gold colored train pull up and come to a stop.

Looking back and forth to see if anyone else had seen the train, Keydan slowly walked closer to it to get a better look.

As if sensing him, the train opened up its doors and seemingly beckoned to him to enter.

"Well, if it's inviting me in, who am I to say no?" Keydan asked with a laugh as he walked into the train, which then immediately took off once he was on board, "Oh boy, I hope I picked the right scenario choice; I really don't feel like turning back to page 22."

TT: The Tower?

After a hectic ride through an unknown area of space, Keydan was finally deposited at one of the funkiest looking towers he'd ever seen.

"Roxas!" Keydan shouted, hoping his friend was somewhere here, "No response…could he be in the tower?"

Heading towards the front door, Keydan was surprised to see a funky individual doing some type of aerobic dance maneuver.

Seeing that he wasn't being acknowledged, Keydan moved closer to the person and cleared his throat, hoping to gain his attention.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby!" the afro sporting person apologized, "When I get my groove going I just lose all touch with reality."

"Yeah, it's okay; I know the feeling." Keydan joked, "Say, have you seen someone named Roxas?"

"Roxas you say? I think someone by that name may have come this way. Blonde hair, a cloak of some kind, and a penchant to be stubborn?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's him! Where is he?" Keydan pleaded.

"Don't worry baby, Afro can show you where to find him." Afro stated, opening the door, "Just follow me."

TT: The Tower Dance Chamber?

"In here you should be able to contact the one you're searching for." Afro explained, "However, you may not fully understand or like the answer you may receive; are you still certain you wish to find the answers you seek?"

"I need to know what my friend meant; it seemed important." Keydan responded with a nod, entering the chamber.

"Well, be careful when you boogie down and don't forget to stretch." Afro stated, closing the chamber's door and leaving Keydan to his devices.

"Roxas…give me a sign." Keydan pleaded, before hearing a familiar laugh as a lighted path made up of DDR arrows appeared before him, "You always did have a strange way of communicating."

"This path seems to go on forever." Keydan sighed, noting how tired he was getting, "When will it end?"

As if to answer his question, Keydan felt himself bumping into a solid wall…that was apparently invisible as he could no longer continue onward.

"What gives? The path continues but I can't get by." Keydan groaned, pounding on the apparently invisible wall, "I won't let this stop me!"

Fueled by his desire to find his friend and his rage, Keydan managed to summon forth his Keysaber and, without hesitation, plunged it through the wall which shattered on contact.

"I'm coming Roxas." Keydan plainly stated, walking through the cracked wall and then falling.

TT: Beyond Protocols

With a thud and a groan, Keydan hit the ground and slowly stood up, shaking off the unexpected plummet.

"This place seems…odd." Keydan stated, seeing the mess of data and characters strung about, "Roxas!"

"No need to shout Mr. Jacket." Roxas quipped, standing in the corner wearing the cloak from Keydan's dream, "I'm surprised you came after me."

"You're one of my buds; of course I had to find out what happened to you…and why everyone else forgot about you." Keydan explained, walking over to his friend.

"I can give you an answer…but whether you want it or not is the question." Roxas explained.

"I need to know…who you are. Who am I?" Keydan demanded, "Please Roxas…"

"Heh, you're so pathetic." Roxas chuckled, "Okay…I'll help you out; we've got plenty of time since that crazy chick can't watch us here."

"It's like this; you're basically my corresponding self in your reality." Roxas explained, "It would seem I was brought in to fill some hole that Nao couldn't fix. Unfortunately, I was a version of Roxas complete with all my memories of what had happened to me in Twilight Town…or at least my Twilight Town."

"Okay, so you weren't meant to be here then." Keydan summarized.

"Exactly; so when you had those strange moments of blanking out, the dreams, that run in with Tekka, who strangely bears a resemblance to someone I know, and then dealing with Jessica…I'd experienced all that with the people who are analogs in my reality for them." Roxas continued, "I'm sorry I made haste the way I did, but if I hadn't things would've gotten very confusing and unstable."

"And then that's why they all forgot about you; good, I'm not going crazy." Keydan sighed in relief.

"Hard to go what you already are." Roxas joked, "But seriously, big things are going to happen to you soon if they follow what happened to me. It's not bad though, you'll still be you, just as a part of them."

"It's almost like giving up being me though…what about my friends?" Keydan asked.  
"They, like me, aren't real here…just data." Roxas sighed, "I'm sorry but they'll have no recollection of you when the time comes."

"Well, that's depressing." Keydan huffed, "I guess I'd better do that one thing then before I lose my chance."

"Well, time is drawing close to the end here Keydan." Roxas said, pulling out a familiar pendant, "I want you to have this…it should bring you some luck."

"This is…then I want you to take this too." Keydan replied, pulling out the necklace he'd gotten from the tournament, "I know it's sappy, but…you were and will always be a great friend to me Roxas."

"I…don't know what to say Keydan." Roxas replied, slightly in shock, taking the necklace and putting it on, "Even after all that, you still treat me as if I'm real. You definitely are something else…goodbye Keydan."

"Goodbye…Roxas." Keydan replied, seeing him fade from sight and then feeling himself get very sleepy before falling asleep.

TT: Train Station Common

"Ugh…Roxas…where am I?" Keydan mumbled, slowly waking up, "I remember the train…and Afro…and then…"

"Ah, good, you're coming too." Olette stated, "You had me worried there for a bit."

"Olette, I'm glad to see you." Keydan admitted, "Where's Hayner and Pence?"

"They went to get someone after we found you collapsed." Olette explained, "What happened to you?"

"I was…talking with an old friend." Keydan answered, "I don't know if I'll ever see him again though; but I won't forget him."

"That's good…just don't worry us like that again, okay? You're lucky I saw you running this way and got the others." Olette said, helping Keydan up, "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah, after I do this I won't have any regrets about what'll happen." Keydan explained, taking Olette in a hug and holding her close.

"Keydan, I…" Olette got out before slowly wrapping her arms around him, "What's this all about?"

"I just…wanted to let you know how I felt about you in case something happens tomorrow." Keydan answered, "I have a feeling something big will and we may never see each other again."

"Keydan…this just seems kind of sudden I guess." Olette admitted, "Was there…anything else you wanted to do?"

"Well, just this." Keydan stated, giving Olette a quick kiss, "I don't expect you to return the feelings, but I just had to get them off my chest…or I'd regret it for the rest of my existence."

"Keydan." Olette replied, blushing at his actions, "We'd better find the others then…what am I going to do with you?"

"Heh, I'm too much like Dark." Keydan quipped with a chuckle.

"Who's Dark?" Olette asked, "Another old friend?"

"Yeah, you could say that." Keydan explained as they walked away.

?

'Restoration at 99%'

"Where the hell did he vanish to?" Yoshino asked, confused at the errors occurring in the virtual Twilight Town.

"It would seem the errant Roxas data found a way to incorporate parts of the real Twilight Town I didn't program in." Nao explained, "Who knows what he was told while out of our view?"

"Well, based on how he pulled a Dark and got a little busy with Olette, I'd think Roxas told him something heavy." Yoshino joked, "He's definitely their Nobody, that's for sure."

"This is no time for jokes! Everything could be jeopardized now!" Nao shouted, slamming her fist into the control panel.

"Hey, calm down; what's the worst that could've happened? Ryan and Dark's memories are almost fully back and Keydan seems a tad willing." Yoshino said, "Things will turn out okay."

"I won't have my revenge stopped like that…so you'd better be right." Nao grunted, flipping some buttons as the scene faded.

*snoring can be heard* Huh? Oh, back again for more eh? Well, this is the last bit for you guys…*a click can be heard as the events of DDR CITY fly by in fast forward and then the final scene shows Ryan walking towards some strange building as ominous music plays* There you go…noodle on what that was if you wish. It's been fun…

TT: ~The One More Extra Stage ~

As Keydan awoke after having some fun times with his friends last night, the appearance of two familiar heroes faded in and out with Keydan's appearance as he got dressed and headed down to meet the others for the fair before summer vacation ended.

TT: Main Common

Seeing the festivities well under way, Keydan headed towards his friends who were busy munching down on some beef bowls.

"Hey guys, starting without me again?" Keydan joked, but his friends didn't seem to even pay any attention to him.

"Hello? Guys? Come on, quit kidding around." Keydan chuckled with some worry.

Starting to panic, Keydan went to grab Olette's shoulder and felt it go right through her.

"I guess Roxas was right…it's a good thing I have no regrets then." Keydan sighed, heading off towards the Woods and tossing aside their group photo, "Goodbye Olette…"

As Keydan was walking away, Olette seemed to turn her head as if she heard something and saw a picture lying on the ground

"Something wrong Olette?" Pence asked, slurping up his noodles.

"No, I just thought…I heard someone call my name." Olette explained, picking the picture up and wondering who the two pictured with her, Hayner, and Pence were.

TT: The Woods

"I'm not sure what to do now; where do I go now Roxas?" Keydan questioned, but received no response.

"Keydan, Keydan, Keydan." Tekka stated, appearing from a portal of darkness, "I can't believe I've been given these terrible orders to destroy you."

"Hey, we're supposed to be friends right?" Keydan asked.

"Yeah, but I'm not becoming a Dusk for that." Tekka groaned, "Hey wait, you remember now?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Keydan lied.

"Well, that's awesome; I've got to check though." Tekka stated, thinking of what to ask, "Ah, who's our boss?"

"Our boss? Hmmm….uh, um, Mansex?" Keydan replied.

"What? What kind of guess is that?" Tekka face faulted, "Guess it was too good to be true."

Summoning forth a wave of Dusks, Tekka made ready to take down Keydan before he was frozen in place.

"Huh? This again?" Keydan sighed, "What do you want now crazy lady?"

"You insolent brat; come to the Mansion now." Nao shouted back.

"Well, I really don't have much of a choice do I?" Keydan grumbled, heading towards the Mansion arcade.

TT: Mansion Arcade

"Okay, let's do this!" Keydan shouted, plowing through the gate with his Keysaber drawn.

Entering the arcade, Keydan was surprised to see it in such good shape and condition considering how long it'd been closed.

"Huh, guess my Gold Rush was for nothing." Keydan joked, exploring the upstairs room and then stumbling upon the white room he had chatted with Jessica in.

"All these pictures supposedly represent memories." Keydan stated, before one caught his eye, "Ugh…"

?

In a dark alleyway, lit by bright neon, we see what looks like Keydan dressed in a black cloak walking quickly, a look of determination on his face.

"You won't change your mind then?" Tekka asked as he walked by him.

"I've got to find out why the Keysaber chose me Tekka." Keydan explained, stopping to look at him, "The answer…the truth…I need to find it."

"If you fly the coop now, the Organization will hunt you down." Tekka stated, "You can't expect them to take this lightly."

"Peh, like I care about those fruitcakes." Keydan sighed, "I wouldn't be missed."

"I would miss you though." Tekka sighed as he watched him walk off.

TT: Mansion Arcade

"Ugh…Organization XIII are the bad guys?" Keydan mumbled, shaking his head, "Or is there more?"

"Good or bad, they just want to be whole again." Jessica stated from her seat across the table, "They merely want back what they once had."

"To be whole again? What are Nobodies?" Keydan stated before seeing Jessica vanish, "Jessica!"

"No knowledge has the power to change your fate." Nao stated, teleporting in.

"You! How dare you say such things…I've got a right to know the truth; even if I won't like it." Keydan shouted, pissed at her arrogance.

"Heh, a Nobody doesn't have a right to know." Nao stated, "You don't have a right to anything."

"Tekka and the other Nobodies are starting to overwhelm me." Yoshino stated, appearing from a portal, "We've got to move this up…and you need to really work on your people skills."

"You won't disappear, Keydan!" Jessica shouted as she opened up her own portal, "You'll be whole again."

"That's enough out of you little bitch." Nao complained, grabbing Jessica roughly.

"Piss off on you, he needs to know!" Jessica shouted back, "We'll meet again Keydan; I may not recognize you and you may not recognize me but we'll know somehow that we're each other."

"Jessica!" Keydan shouted as he ran towards her but was stopped by Yoshino, "You seem smart enough to know this doesn't seem right."

"…I have my reasons." Yoshino stated as Nao made off with Jessica before he too teleported away.

"Argh…oh, look at me; I'm Yoshi poopy pants!" Keydan grumbled loudly, "Dammit!"

After recovering from this and obtaining some drawings that seemed to belong to Jessica, Keydan continued exploring the Mansion and stumbled upon another room with a lone table sitting in it.

"Hmm, this icon looks like the one on the cover of this book." Keydan stated, noting a lone crayon sitting on the table, "Hmmm, I wonder."

Picking up the crayon, Keydan drew in the missing symbol and quickly stepped back as the floor disappeared, a staircase appearing underneath it.

"And deeper into the bowels I go, wondering if Hell I might find." Keydan quipped, stepping down the stairs and through an open doorway.

TT: Computer Lab

Walking over to a large console, Keydan looked over the screens before clutching his head and grunting.

"Not again…like last time." Keydan groaned as the headache worsened as he saw some strange images flash in his mind, "Other people in cloaks…those white creatures chasing me."

?

"Why do you have the Keysaber?" Yoshino demanded, holding his own as he faced what appeared to be a cloaked Keydan.

"…" Keydan murmured as he looked at his Keysaber, "Shut up!"

After an intense fight, Keydan was knocked backwards and shortly collapsed.

"I'm sorry Keydan…but my friends need you." Yoshino sighed, collecting him and teleporting back to Nao.

"Are you sure this will work?" Yoshino asked as he tossed Keydan under a strange device.

"He holds half of Ryan and Dark's power and he'll have to give it back." Nao explained, "Until Jessica finishes reconnecting their memories, we need to make it so Keydan won't be caught."

Punching in some commands at her console, Nao activated the beam and teleported Keydan to the data Twilight Town.

"This really doesn't feel right…" Yoshino thought aloud, "I don't feel right."

"It never gets easier…but it's the fate of a Nobody." Nao answered back.

TT: Computer Lab

Angered by the memories that had eluded him for so long, Keydan unleashed his rage at the console; soon it had been reduced to nothing but a pile of scrap and sparks.

"Dammit…" Keydan huffed, noting another door had opened, "Why is he being chosen…over me?"

Entering the door, Keydan heard some clapping and saw none other than Tekka.

"Amazing my friend." Tekka stated, walking towards him.

"Tekka." Keydan replied, "It doesn't have to be this way."

"You really do remember this time, eh?" Tekka asked, flaring his flames, "I'm so FLATTTERED! You're too late though!"

Keydan looked in shock, but then shook his head and pulled out two Keysabers, spinning them around and clashing their blades for an intimidating effect.

"Two of them?" Tekka shouted, "Heh, that won't help you at all."

Surrounding the two of them in a ring of fire, Tekka taunted Keydan before jumping and hiding in it.

"I fell into a burning ring of fire; down, down, down, and the flames went higher." Keydan sang, jumping after Tekka and smacking him around, knocking the flames out.

Tekka chuckled at Keydan's antics and tossed his discs at him, knocking him onto his back and allowing him to hide in the fire again.

Looking around for any sign of Tekka, Keydan noticed him come flying out towards him and countered his attack, chasing him along the ring of fire and smacking him senseless with his Keysabers.

"Keydan…" Tekka sighed, collapsing to one knee as the fire died down and went out.

"And it burns, burns, burns…the ring of fire," Keydan finished, "The ring of fire."

"Tekka…" Keydan sighed, willing away his Keysabers.

"In the next life, let's meet up there." Tekka said with a smile, "Maybe we can have something better than this."  
"You got it buddy…it'll be something to look forward to." Keydan replied with a smile.

"You think I get another life like you?" Tekka chuckled, "If only…"

Walking over to where Tekka faded away, Keydan looked to be in deep thought, but quickly headed onward towards his fate.

Passing through a long hallway, Keydan noticed two familiar figures in stasis.

"Dark and Reps are here, that must mean that Ryan is nearby." Keydan murmured to himself, continuing down the hall.

Entering a large, white room, Keydan noticed another pod with Ryan in it and then Nao standing right there in front of it.

"The Keysaber's chosen one at last." Nao quipped.

"Are you talking to me? Or Ryan and Dark?" Keydan growled.

"To half of them of course." Nao responded, "You are their dark half…which is odd since Dark is supposed to be Ryan's dark half. I wonder if that makes you half of a half…regardless, I need someone capable of traveling in the world of light."

"Just who the hell are you?" Keydan demanded.

"A servant of the world…which makes you naught but a tool." Nao laughed.

"Don't give me that destiny bullshit!" Keydan shouted, summoning his Keysaber, "I am who I want to be!"

Dashing towards Nao, Keydan ran her through…or would have if she wasn't a simulation.

"This is just a data projection; I have other things to attend to." Nao explained.

Angered by this, Keydan unleashed a multitude of attacks at the data projection before it teleported over to Ryan's pod.

"You're such a bitch!" Keydan shouted, "My heart is mine to control, not Ryan's, not Dark's, and certainly not yours!"

"Heh, you should share that anger with them…they're far too nice." Nao calmly replied.

Disappearing, Nao left Keydan alone as Ryan's pod slowly opened, revealing him in slightly tight clothing.

"Ryan…" Keydan murmured, seeing him float there, "You're a lucky guy…guess my summer vacation is over; don't waste yours."

DDR HEARTS II

"Ryan…"

Outlaw Star

"Huh?" Ryan grumbled, slowly waking up, "That was one weird dream I had."

Feeling something in his pocket, Ryan pulled out a strange pendant and stared at it flabbergasted.

"If I have this then…was that not a dream?" Ryan wondered, shaking his head and standing up.

"I don't think it was." Sora responded, standing in the doorway, "I think I have something that belongs to you."

Walking over to Ryan, Sora held out Keydan's prize from the tournament as Ryan held out Roxas' necklace.

"I think an old friend made a promise on these." Ryan stated, breaking the silence.

"Yeah." Sora responded as the two returned the necklaces to each other, "That dream seems so strange though…almost as if history was altered."

"Maybe…eh?" Ryan mumbled jumping back as the two necklaces glowed and turned into respective weapons for the two of them: Binding Promise for Ryan and Eternal Camaraderie for Sora.

"If I may interject, we have arrived at our destination." Gilliam stated, "I'll move us into orbit and await your command."

"Thanks Gilliam." Ryan responded, "Alia, if you could go wake sleeping beauty we can get this show on the road."

With a nod, Alia headed to wake Dark as Ryan made preparations to teleport.

"Does this mean things are different between us?" Sora asked.

"Heh…if you don't know, then I'm not telling." Ryan laughed as he headed towards the teleporter, pausing as he heard a strange, but familiar voice in his head:

'Ryan, Dark…wherever you go; I'll be with you…so let's go together.'


	9. CONTRACT

**DDR HEARTS 2: Decision - CONTRACT**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

Empty Sector

"Great navigating Gilliam; our lovely little trip through Transwarp landed us nowhere." Ryan groaned, "Are you sure you read that map right?"

"I'm only as efficient as my users; if you can't read the map then what makes you think I can?" Gilliam retorted.

"Is it always like that with those two?" Sora asked Dark who was focusing on the map in question and ignoring the noise.

"Yeah…pretty much; I think it has to do with the previous owners of this ship." Dark stated, going over some readings, "Meanwhile, I think I'm detecting something. It's really faint but I can make it out."

"Wait, what did you say?" Ryan asked, snapping out of his argument with Gilliam by Dark's statement.

"It's faint, but something is trying to contact us. I'll see if I can focus in on it." Dark replied, turning some dials and slowly raising the frequency, "That's odd…this is a special frequency I sanctioned for emergency use when we took over the Outlaw Star; there aren't a lot of people who could contact us with it."

"Can you make out what they're saying?" Sora asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Gilliam, direct any non-essential power that you can to the feed." Dark commanded, fine-tuning some variables till finally, "Yes! It's rough, but I can make out some words now; start a trace while I listen."

"I'm on it!" Ryan shouted, hoping in his seat and starting up the program.

"…help, reaver…overwhelming us…man missing…under attack. Strange…shaped like…Dark!" Dark read as he listened before it cut to static, "The signal went dead…nothing but static."

"That's alright though." Ryan stated, easing Dark's worry, "We've got a lock on it and Gilliam's heading there as we speak."

"I don't get the message." Sora murmured, "It doesn't sound like anywhere I've been so, does it sound like anything you guys know?"

"Maybe…I've got a hunch from the few words we did get, but we need to be ready for whatever happens when we get there." Dark replied, standing up and heading towards his room, "Make sure you're ready, because I don't think we'll get too much time to relax once we get there."

Meanwhile, in Dark's room, Alia seemed a bit worried about Dark.

"Is something wrong, hon? You seemed really agitated by that message." Alia asked, seeing Dark going through his belongings and seeing what he would need.

"There weren't a lot of people I gave that too while we were out adventuring." Dark began, sitting down on his bed, "The voice was female and there weren't many females we ran into since this adventure began; I've narrowed it down to one place and I'm not going to like what we're going to see. I'm worried about her."

"Oh, I see." Alia sighed, sitting next to him.

"Oh, don't start that; you know you're special to me you goober." Dark laughed softly, "I'm just that way, like Lupin but with more style and luck; I can't help being friendly with all the lovely ladies we run into."

"Oh, I know; I was told you were like this by the others but I guess it's just hard to get used to." Alia replied with a smile, "I'm sure being part demon has some effect on your undeniable appeal as well."

"Damn straight!" Dark laughed, hugging Alia, "I worry about all my girls, so let's go help this one!"

A Familiar Blue Planet

"I might've guessed we'd be led here." Ryan mumbled, seeing their destination, "I guess those ruins proved more troublesome for Trigger than we thought."

"Something seems off though." Reps stated, coming out of his stasis pod, "Ugh…I hate having to go into that thing."

"Ah, you're awake." Dark stated, entering the bridge, "All your systems fully functioning I'd assume?"

"Yeah." Reps grumbled, cracking his neck somehow, "Remind me to not take any hits like that anytime soon. Regardless, doesn't Terra look browner than usual?"

"You're right; the vast ocean's that covered it seem to have receded somewhat." Ryan gasped, "What the hell's going on?"

"I'd hate to interrupt you guys." Alia stated from her control pod, "I've detected what appears to be a faint SOS signal on the same frequency as before; it would appear your friends are in trouble."

"No time to beam down and find them." Dark stated, taking charge, "Everyone strap in and hold on tight…we're taking the Outlaw Star down to the surface!"

Inafune Ruins

"The signal's source should be close by." Alia announced, "Visual confirmation should be forthcoming."

"I think I see it." Ryan stated, noting a familiar red and yellow ship on screen, "But it looks a little off."

"Hey, isn't that skull the symbol of the Bonnes?" Reps questioned, "What's it doing on the deck of the Flutter?"

"We can worry about that later; they seem to be under attack from giant bird Reaverbot." Dark interrupted, "We've got to stop it."

"…what the hell are you guys talking about?" Sora shouted, utterly confused by everything.

"Ugh, your damn signal didn't do a thing!" Tron shouted at Roll as they did their best to dodge the Reaverbot's attacks.

"I know Dark will come! He promised!" Roll shouted back, doing a sharp turn to avoid a laser blast, "He won't let me down."

"That's what you said about Megaman and look what happened there!" Tron shouted, before covering her mouth, "Roll, I didn't mean that…"

"I know Tron…things have just been…oh shit!" Roll shouted as the Flutter was hit hard, the engines smoking as she tried to land it as softly she could.

"Ugh…we're sitting ducks now." Tron sighed, "Roll…I'm sorry."

"Yeah, so am I." Roll replied, before shaking her head, "Hey, do you hear that loud engine noise?"

"FALCON PAWNCH!" cut across the air as the Outlaw Star's Grappler arm plowed right into the bird Reaverbot, knocking it far into the distance with a loud roar.

"Whose ship is that?" Tron stated, staring up at the Outlaw Star, "It's magnificent."

"I don't know, but I wonder if I could look it over." Roll stated, before closing her eyes as a bright light shined forth in front of her.

"Did someone call for a hero?" Dark chuckled, winking at Roll, "Did you miss me?"

"Dark!" Roll shouted, tackling him, "You came! You really came! I knew you would!"

"Whoa, easy, calm down; there are others around you know." Dark grinned, "So, why don't we get aboard the Outlaw Star and boogie before that bird gets back. It looked pissed and I don't think I want to tackle it right now."

"Um, wait…does that mean teleporting because I'm not sure I want to try that." Tron gulped, "I like staying whole thank you."

"Oh come on Tron where's that brave Bonne spirit of yours?" Ryan joked, hoping to raise her ire.  
"Oh, why you! Fine! Let's go take a magical trip on your light beams! Just don't blame me if I get turned inside out!" Tron shouted, joining the group as they teleported up to the Outlaw Star.

After the group was out of sight, the Reaverbot returned to see the Flutter lifeless and empty, something which caused it to screech in agony.

Meanwhile, a strange female appeared on top of the Flutter, staring up at the Reaverbot with sad eyes; "They have arrived."

Outlaw Star, Hovering over the Capic Ocean

After a quick discussion to get Sora up to date so he wasn't lost, Tron and Roll began detailing all that had happened in the last two weeks.

"After you guys left, the old systems came back online like Yuna figured they would." Roll explained, "And Megaman, being who he is, just had to face that challenge head on."

"Where is Megaman anyway?" Reps asked, "Trigger usually isn't one to be absent from the party."

"We'll get to that…" Tron sighed, "Anyway, despite feeling awkward about it, my brother figured that the best way to take on this threat would be to team up with Megaman."

"Wait…Tiesel actually worked _with_ Trigger?" Ryan gasped, "I guess he's smarter than I give him credit for."

"Anyway, things were going rather well until we came upon a new ruin that had appeared as a result of the goings-on at Elysium." Roll continued, "Tiesel, Bon, and Megaman went digging while we spotted for them. Everything seemed fine until they got to the bottom of the ruins."

"Something went belly up then, didn't it?" Dark interjected.

"Pretty much." Tron stated with a sad look on her face, "All we got over the com system was a lot of loud noises, a switch going off, and then Megaman and my brother shouting about something before everything cut off."

"What about those oceans?" Alia asked, "Reps noted that the planet wasn't as blue from space."

"Yeah, that's probably what that switch was." Roll replied, "After that noise, the ocean's started slowly draining and revealed more ruins that were hidden away beneath the waves. About that time, the Reaverbots started wandering outside the ruins; then that big one showed up."

"The falcon looking one we sucker punched, right?" Sora added, "I think I'm starting to get a feel for what's going on here. I don't think the Heartless or the Nobodies have anything to do with this."

"Yeah, it doesn't seem like their type of hijinx." Ryan stated, "Is there anything else left to tell us?"

"Yeah, actually." Tron continued, "There are rumors of a strange girl showing up just before and after that Reaverbot appears, we have a feeling it's whatever was unsealed by that mysterious ruin Megaman and my brothers were digging in. That was two weeks ago and things are looking really grim."

"Well, now that we're here, you girls don't have to worry about a thing." Dark stated with a wink, "Darkness Shade and the heroes of the Outlaw Star at your service!"

"He's quite a showman, isn't he?" Sora whispered to Ryan.

"One of the best." Ryan chuckled, "Anyway, where are we heading girls? The Flutter looked kaput for now so, is there a base or anything?"

"We've actually set up shop at the New Digger's guild…the original one was the first one hit hard by the Reaverbot attacks." Roll solemnly stated, "A lot of people lost their lives that day…and we were helpless."

"Don't worry Roll; we'll take that damn thing down no matter what!" Ryan shouted, "We're the good guys…and don't forget, Megaman is still out there."

"But…" Roll sighed.

"Hey, no buts except yours okay?" Ryan stated with a wink, "Gilliam, let's head for that guild."

"Acknowledged." Gilliam replied, "As soon as one of you tells me where it is."

Legion Isle: New Digger's Guild HQ

"Oh, I sure wish those two would hurry back." Stated old man Barrel, pacing back and forth outside on the observation deck, "If only Megaman were still around…then she wouldn't have to do all this dangerous stuff."

Reflecting for a moment, Barrel chuckled and murmured that she still would even if he was.

"Mumbling to yourself again I see." Yuna commented, walking over to him, "Still not back, eh?"

"Nope, but they should be back soon." Barrel sighed, "I sure hope they didn't run into that bird Reaverbot…"

Just as Yuna was about to reply, shouting by the lookout tower drew her attention to a large ship in the distance.

"I don't recognize that ship…who do you think it is?" Yuna asked, slowly walking towards the docks.

"Hmmm, maybe it's some more survivors?" Barrel replied, walking with her.

"Um, one of you care to let them know we're the good guys?" Ryan asked, noting he was getting squawked at over the com system.

"Right!" Tron replied, taking over a mic and relaying the proper authorization codes.

"Pass code checks out; welcome home you two." Came the reply over the com as Ryan landed the Outlaw Star.

After telling Gilliam to look over things, Ryan and the crew hopped down to the deck below and noticed two familiar faces walking towards them.

"Oh, it's you guys again." Yuna replied, "Talk about good timing."

"I'll say." Barrel added, "With you here we might stand a better chance against those pesky Reaverbots giving us hell. Did Roll fill you in?"

"Yeah, things sound grim but I wouldn't worry too much." Dark replied, "So, who's in charge here?"

New Digger's Guild HQ: Commissioner's Chamber

After a quick rehashing of who's who and what's what and all that, the group began serious discussions of what their possible options were.

"So that Reaverbot showed up again, did it?" the commissioner murmured, "This is highly unsettling…the rumors seem to be true after all."

"I want to know how we can help." Ryan stated, pumping his fist in the air, "I can't let things continue like this."

"Easy Ryan, we'll figure something out." Reps chuckled, shaking his head.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm but we don't have many choices; a lot of brave diggers have already been lost keeping the Reaverbots at bay and I don't want to lose anymore people." The commissioner sighed, "Still, we must take action."

"We'll give any tactical help we can." Alia added, "Our ship is at your disposal."

"You all seem so damn gung-ho." Sora quipped, "What the hell…I'm in!"

"Well, we know there are two key points that seemed to be of importance." The commissioner stated, pulling out a map, "One is the area where we lost Megaman Trigger down over here, and then there's another one where we've detected high concentrations of Reaverbots and Refractor energy here."

"Okay, so we flip a coin and then go from there, right?" Dark chuckled, "Seems easy enough."

"Well, the thing is those areas actually have barriers around them; we've been unable to figure out a way to break through them." The commissioner huffed, "It's so damn frustrating!"

"Hmmm….Dark, didn't you give Roll something before we left?" Reps questioned.

"Oh yeah, that thing…Roll, do you still have it?" Dark stated, turning to her.

"Um…yeah…I have it on me actually." Roll stated, feeling around her pockets and not finding it, "Where did I…oh yeah!"

Reaching under her cap, Roll pulled out the device in question.

"Ah, good; with this we can take down those pesky barriers." Dark stated with a grin, "Unlikely plot device powers: ACTIVATE!"

"What's he doing?" Tron whispered to Alia, "its...silly."

"Oh, that's how he is." Alia lightly chuckled, "He's got enough energy to power a sun and it really doesn't mean anything to him."

"Well, then you have my permission to dig there." The commissioner stated, handing a card key to Roll, "You'll need that to get in there. Good luck…and don't get killed."

"You can count on us!" Ryan shouted, "Agents…are….GO!"

Capic Ocean Waters: Near the Mysterious Tower

"Good Lord!" Ryan shouted, seeing the literal wave of Reaverbots surrounding the area, "How the hell do we get past all those?"

"That's where the gadget I gave Roll comes in handy." Dark stated, taking the device and putting it into the Outlaw Star's main control, "Activate Plot Hole of No Return!"

~Insert crazy awesome, super special action sequence here~

Mysterious Tower: Dock

"How the hell did we get here?" Sora questioned, "It was like magic."

"That's the Plotholes effect; we don't have to explain anything and the plot advances like everything is okay!" Dark shouted.

"But…" Reps asked.

"EVERYTHING IS OKAY!" Dark shouted, his eye twitching, "Can you hear us okay girls?"

"Affirmative." Alia replied, "We'll spot from here while you guys explore."

"Don't worry; we'll watch your backs." Roll stated, "I wish I could head out there with you though."

"Just don't die or anything like that." Tron grumbled, "You've still got to find Megaman."

"Heh, don't worry, we'll be fine." Ryan replied, using the keycard to open the gate, "Let's go guys."

Mysterious Tower: Basement 10

"Ugh, we go and we go and we go and where still nowhere near the bottom!" Sora grumbled, "I'm hungry."

"Can you think without your stomach for five seconds Sora?" Ryan sighed, "This place is really weird; the old vines, crackling electronics, and that strange sense that something is watching us hasn't left either."

"Oh, I think you're just being too paranoid." Dark commented, "Hey, what's that light up ahead?"

"Hmmm….there's something on the other side of this door, but I can't get it open." Reps stated, "Here, I'm going to try to hack into it."

Plugging into the door's keypad, Reps struggle to get it to accept an opening command, but it eventually receded and opened the way.

"It's some kind of command center." Ryan surmised, "I guess if there's power here then we might be running into some more obstacles soon enough."

Walking over to the console, Dark began typing, trying to find any info that could be useful.

"Find anything?" Sora asked, kicking a few vines out of the way.

"Sort of…this tower is definitely in good shape for its age, says here it was built around 25XX to 26XX AD." Dark replied.

"That means it was built nearly 4000 years ago?" Roll asked over the phone, "What the hell? Talk about good engineering."

"Hey Roll; I'm putting a patch on the console, see if you can download any other info while we continue onward." Reps stated, attaching the device and heading forward.

"Got it, we'll transfer the data and then take a look at it." Roll replied, "You want to start working on it Tron?"

"I'll crack that stuff faster than you can blink." Tron stated, "I won't let you one up me now."

"Always a competition with you." Roll sighed, shaking her head, "Alia can you…Alia? Where did she go?"

"Huh? She was here just a second ago?" Tron answered, "I can handle things here, go find out what's bugging her."

Nodding, Roll went wandering the ship looking for Alia.

"Everything okay on your end girls?" Ryan asked, slicing some more vines, "God, what is with the greenery here?"

"We're fine, Alia just wandered off somewhere." Tron replied, "Be careful, the energy readings seem to be building further up."

"Okay, will do." Dark replied, 'What's up with Alia?'

"Has anyone else found it weird that we haven't run into any enemies, just a bunch of weird vines and stuff?" Reps questioned, "Nothing but plants and electronics all meshed together."

"Well, we did find that odd stone, but it doesn't seem to do anything." Sora stated, looking it over, "I wonder what it's for?"

"Well, if we ever get to the bottom of this tower we'll find out then, won't we?" Dark sighed, "How many floors has it been so far?"

"I think you're 30 floors down fellas." Tron replied, "From the readings I'm getting you're near the bottom so play it cool and don't rush things."

"Okay, we'll keep an eye out and…oh god, what the hell is that?" Ryan shouted over the com, "Tron, the readings….can't….noooooo!"

"Ryan? Ryan? RYAN?" Tron shouted, "Damn, the line's dead…Roll! Alia! Get out here quick!"

"What's the matter?" Alia asked, "What happened?"

"The line…it just went dead after Ryan shouted something about something he saw." Tron explained, "The readings spiked before the signal died so we've got to get back in contact somehow."

"Don't worry, I'm on it!" Roll stated, looking over at Alia, "Actually, since this is your ship, I'll let you handle it Alia."

"Thank you, Roll." Alia replied, typing away at the keyboard rapidly.

Mysterious Tower: Bottom Floor

Meanwhile, about ten minutes prior…

"Hey, I've found something guys!" Sora shouted, "It's some type of plaque."

Dusting it off, Ryan tried to read the writing and could only get bits and pieces.

"Tower…Verdure…dedicated 25XX…by…it just gets too messed up to read after that." Ryan stated, "Tower of Verdure? No wonder we didn't find any enemies…this place is so old nothing exists here anymore."

"Well, we've got one last door to go into, so we'll find out." Reps stated, opening up the door and stepping inside, "What the heck?"

"There's something in the corner over there." Ryan stated, "Keep and eye out and…what the hell is that?"

As if in response to Ryan, he heard whatever it was grumble and slowly stand up.

"Oh my…what have we here?" stated the figure, "After all these years I get visitors….and such handsome ones at that."

"Tron, the readings…..it's off the charts….I can't contain the ambiguity! Noooo!" Ryan shouted, rushing back to the others, "Oh God he's fruitier than Hawaiian Punch."

"Ugh…what's going on here?" Sora grunted, dropping the object he had found, "It's glowing!"

"Ack…I know the light….Biometal." the figure grunted, "The boy…mmmmmm…the boy from so long ago had one of those."

"Ugh…where am I?" the Biometal spoke, floating in the air and looking around, "Huh? This is….but how? Wait…I'm detecting Chosen ones? No…just one…what's going on?"

"Huh? Who the heck are you?" Reps asked, "What is Biometal?"

"You look…familiar…as do those two…why?" The Biometal grunted, "My name is Biometal Z. Where am I?"

"The Tower of Verdure apparently…in the year 62XX." Dark explained, "How long have you been out like that?"

"You there, with the wings….grab hold of me and shout Rock On!" Biometal Z stated.

"Look, we just met and you know, I would think a date and a movie and such would be first before I just grab you and all." Dark joked, taking hold of Z, "Oh well, here goes nothing! ROCK ON!"

Insert an awesome, super-cool sequence where Dark acquires some very familiar armor and weaponry and presto, we've got Dark Model Z ready to fight.

"Whoa, this is wacky." Dark commented, "Hey, my Keysaber…it looks different now…almost familiar to someone else's weapon. Hmmm…"

"Oh dear, this won't do at all. I can't have the Biometal escape even after all these years…and I won't lose my company either." The figure stated, "No, not now! Not Ever!"

As light filled the room from the figures anger, he seemed to latch on to some nearby vines and transform, gaining a more agile form.

"You won't escape me…no one escapes from Rospark the Floweroid!" Rospark shouted, tossing electricity bolts everywhere.

"Rospark? Oh God….there's one in every game isn't there?" Ryan sighed, then burst out into laughter, "Dark, why don't you rid us of this guy?"

"Will do…I feel different all powered up like this." Dark stated, "Let's go you freaky flower!"

"Be careful of his attacks, Dark. If you get hit with them you'll be stunned temporarily." Biometal Z cautioned.

"You can still talk like this? Cool." Dark shouted, slashing at Rospark, "Take that!"

"Ugh…you play so rough boy." Rospark replied, "Let me return the favor!"

Dark could only grunt in agony as Rospark wrapped him up in one of his vine whips and sent a current of energy pumping through him.

"That so does not sound or look right." Ryan groaned, "I'm coming Dark!"

Charging at Rospark, Ryan severed the vine and smacked him backwards into the wall.

"Oh…two for one, huh? How delightful." Rospark replied, powering up and firing a huge blast at Ryan.

"Oh snap!" Ryan shouted, barely dodging the blast and crashing into the side of the room, "There's never enough room to fight when it comes to Megaman worlds!"

"The close quarters always meant it wouldn't be boring; especially with you four." Rospark stated before giggling, "I'll enjoy breaking all of you."  
"Oh God, I can't take it anymore!" Reps shouted, "Enough is enough! I'm tired of these fucking ghey plants in my fucking Megaman games!"

With that Reps powered up his arm cannon and gave Rospark a new vent port.

"Oh my…too…rough." Rospark coughed, his body sparking before exploding in a spray of light and parts.

"Damn Reps, why didn't you just do that from the beginning and save us the trouble?" Sora commented, "Anyway, let's get the hell out of here….that was just too weird."

"…guys….can you guys hear us?" Alia shouted over the com, "We heard Reps shouting and thought…well, what happened?"

"We'll explain when we get back to the surface." Dark replied, de-transforming, "I just feel icky now…like I need a shower. When is Capcom going to learn…?"

Aboard the Outlaw Star

After a brief recap, and a break so Dark could cleanse himself, Biometal Z was trying to come to grips with what was going on.

"I don't seem to remember much. It's like a huge part of my memory just vanished." Biometal Z stated, "I don't remember much after I became separated from Vent and Aile…which according to you guys was somewhere around 4000 years ago roughly."

"Yeah, that's a crazy story you got going on there Zeta." Ryan commented, "You look familiar though; and that form Dark took when you merged with him…I can't place it but something seemed familiar about that too."

"I'm not sure why." Zeta answered, "Anyway, I think I need to rest…a nearly 4000 year nap leaves you tired and rusty."

"Wait, before you do that." Roll interrupted, "Do you know anything about where Megaman is or about that shielded ruins?"

"Shielded ruins? I'm not sure…as for Megaman, the name holds a meaning for me but I feel you mean someone else. So sorry, but I don't know about him." Zeta stated, slowly shutting down, "I'll run a diagnostic while asleep and maybe the ruins will come up but until then, I need…to…rest."

Sensing Zeta was done for a while; Ryan placed him somewhere safe and tried to figure out what to do next.

"Well that was a bit of a bust." Sora groaned, flopping on the couch, "Some fruity plant nearly had his way with us and we got nothing out of the deal."

"Well, not necessarily." Tron replied, "I've been searching that data and there seems to be something of use."

Brining up the display, Tron pointed at two different maps.

"As you can see, this is the world as we know it now." Tron explained, "And the other is a map from around the time the Tower of Verdure was built. When we overlap the two, certain areas sync up."

"The ruins…they correspond to certain landmarks from that time." Reps stated, "Interesting…does that ruin you found under the sea match up?"

"After examining the data, it seems something sunk in the ocean around there around the time Zeta is from…but other than that nothing." Alia added, "For now we should probably head back and look over the data some more till we get another clue."

Capic Ocean: Near Digger HQ

"I'm surprised that falcon bot hasn't reappeared lately." Ryan commented, "I'm not wishing to tempt fate, but I don't like it."

"Even as powerful as the Outlaw Star is, even I don't believe we could've inflicted a mortal wound." Gilliam added, "I suggest staying on guard…huh? Strange, I'm detecting some type of subtle signal…it's of machine origin but nothing I've heard felt before."

"Can you decode it?" Roll asked.

"It's far too scrambled, but it's coming from a nearby island." Gilliam stated, "I believe it's the one you call Contract."

"There shouldn't be anything there though." Tron replied, "It's uninhabited."

"Yeah, but with the oceans receding like you told us, couldn't someone have tried to flee there?" Sora asked, "I bet someone needs help."

"Well, I'm not one to leave someone hanging. Gilliam, make haste for Contract Isle." Dark commanded.

"Acknowledged." Gilliam replied.

Contract Isle

"This isn't too big of an island is it?" Reps asked, walking along the beach, "Shouldn't be too hard to find the signal then."  
"Let's hope so…any word girls?" Ryan asked over the com.

"It seems to be a little further in, maybe about twenty feet so it's not far." Roll replied.

"Okay, we'll keep looking then." Dark replied, heading further in with the group.

"I still don't see anything." Dark groaned, "It's been an hour…and…wait, over there."

Pointing ahead, the other looked to see what grabbed Dark's attention and saw nothing.

"What? But I saw…a girl…with light purple hair…and reddish white wings." Dark stated, "Yeah, that sounds odd…"

"Well, I don't know what's going on here but…wait, there she is!" Ryan shouted, noticing her running away from the group, "Wait! We got your signal! We came to help!"

Giving chase, the group followed her all the way to the other side of the island and apparently lost her.

"How did we…we searched the whole island." Sora panted, "Crazy girl…"

"I'm detecting something on the sensors fellows." Gilliam interjected over the com, "Seems our friend is back."  
"Shit, now?" Reps sighed, "We need to get out of here then!"

"I'm with Reps, hurry and get us so we can boogie!" Ryan stated.

As the group boarded and then flew off, the girl looked upwards at the Reaverbot from before.

"I can't let anyone else get hurt…I can't let them get close. I can't…I have to do this…alone. I won't be used." She stated before twitching and grabbing her head in pain, "…I understand."

Without a word, the girl seemingly defied gravity and jumped on top of the Reaverbot as it took off.

Digger HQ

"And she didn't even say anything…she just ran off and then we lost her." Ryan explained to Barrel and the others, "I don't get it…and we didn't find a lot of info at that Tower."

"I see, well hopefully the info you did find has some secrets we can exploit…what of this Zeta though?" Barrel asked.

"He seems on the level and he did help us so I'm willing to trust him. I'd rather let him sleep for now though since he seemed out of it." Dark replied, "Anyway…there's got to be something we can do until the data is decoded."

"I think I can keep you busy." Roll suggested, "I've got some new gadgets I want to test."

"You just want more blackmail pics don't you?" Dark joked, "Seriously though, I wish I knew where Trigger was…I'd be a little more confidant about all this if he'd just show up."

"Did someone say my name?" Megaman Trigger asked, walking in through the gates as if nothing was the matter.

"Wha? Buh? Huh?" Ryan attempted to state, "Trigger! Is that you you crazy sunovabitch?"

"I'd hope so…I'm pretty sure I'm me. It's good to see you guys." Trigger replied, "It's good to see all of you again."

"Um, do you happen to know where my brothers are?" Tron timidly asked.

"Tron…I…I'm sorry. I don't…we got separated and then…I'm surprised I made it out and back here." Trigger replied, "It's odd though…I don't recall anything between getting lost in the ruins and then ending up on the shore here."

"That's kinda weird." Reps stated, "You don't remember anything?"

"Not really…the only thing is an image of girl with wings…she seemed so sad but she helped me…I think." Trigger replied, "I woke up healed on the outskirts of the island and felt like I hadn't been damaged at all."

"Well, I'm glad at least someone came back." Tron stated, then rushing off, "Excuse me…"

"Tron…I'll go after her guys." Ryan stated, leaving the others to discuss with Trigger about what to do.

Digger HQ: Lookout Point

"I thought I'd find you here." Ryan stated, "Roll told me you come here a lot ever since then."

"The view…the view helps me." Tron replied, her face stained from crying, "I just think that if I come here I'll see them coming and we'll all be happy again."

"Yeah, hope is a double-edged sword to be sure." Ryan surmised, sitting down next to her, "I'm here for you…if you need someone that is…we all care about you and…well, I'm never good at this sort of thing."

"Thank you…Ryan." Tron stated, hugging him, "I may have said some nasty things to you before but thank you for being here for me."  
"Eh, don't worry about that…you guys learned your lessons and aren't all that bad anymore." Ryan chuckled, "Anyway, if Trigger made it back, Tiesel and Bon will as well so don't worry."

"Heh thanks Ryan." Tron laughed, "Let's see if the others have come up with anything."

Back with the others…

"Okay, so we know what to do then right?" Trigger asked, "Oh, here they come."

"So, any news guys?" Ryan asked, "You looked like you had something come up."

"Heh, turns out that what Zeta was saying was the truth; sometime after this Tower was erected, there was an outbreak with what were called Megamen." Dark explained, "Using Biometal like Zeta allowed Chosen Ones to become a Megaman."

"I see, and where does that place us with that other ruins?" Tron asked.

"As it turns out, some type of giant Biometal was activated and caused a huge occurrence…those two people Zeta talked about apparently helped some other chosen ones stop it and it sank into the ocean." Roll continued, "Which places it right at those ruins."

"Then that's where it all is then, isn't it? That thing must've festered for years being buried down there and then when you guys stumbled onto the ruins." Reps added, "Wonderful…"

"I'm still not sure that girl isn't a part of this…Trigger saw her and so did we and then that Reaverbot just happened to show up." Sora stated, "I don't like this one bit."

"Okay, now that you caught us up, how do we get in there?" Ryan asked.

"It actually seems someone has a device that can bypass the shield." Trigger stated with unease.

"Well, it's supposedly connected to Zeta and so we can get in with Zeta…but only when he merges with Dark." Alia added on, "Unfortunately we don't know what that'll do to either Dark or Zeta."

"I'm willing to risk it, what the hell?" Dark casually commented, "I'm a title character after all, so I can't die! Something will happen!"

"Again, is he always like this?" Tron whispered to Ryan.

"Yeah, pretty much." Ryan replied, laughing at his other self's silliness.

Kei Ocean: Gate Tower

"Okay, so we're here and Zeta seems ready to go." Dark stated, "Rock on!"

After a super-special awesome, budget draining transformation sequence, Dark was Model Zeta again.

"Any idea what we do now Zeta?" Dark asked, looking outside the bay door of the Outlaw Star.

"Well, I feel like you should take out your weapon, jump into the air, scream real loud, and then plunge that sucker into the shield as hard as you can." Zeta stated, "Weird…that seems more violent a plan than I'd usually think of."

"Well, it works for me! Raarrrrrrgh!" Dark shouted, jumping from the ship and impaling the shield with his saber, "Ouch…that shield's fighting back."

Struggling, Dark pushed harder and began to open a hole into it.

"Hurry up you guys, this damn thing won't last forever." Dark shouted, "Urgh…damn problems that we can't godmod through…no, we have to do it the entertaining and dramatic way. Oh yeah, and Mind the gap!"

Ignoring Dark's little soliloquy, Ryan and the others hopped through the gap and landed on the outskirts of ruins entrance.

"Go Dark, I'll hold a small patch here in order to let the others spot for you." Zeta shouted, disengaging from Dark and knocking him onto the platform.

"Blargh!" Dark shouted, landing face first on the platform, "When did you guys learn to split in two? That's awesome."

"I think he hit his head too hard." Sora quipped as the group entered the lift and descended into the ruins.

Gate Tower Ruins: Hallway

"I don't suppose anyone knows what we're looking for?" Trigger asked, taking down a small Reaverbot blocking the path.

"I'm just glad the author got back to writing after waiting a month's time." Dark sighed, knocking away yet another Reaverbot, "Girls? Any clue as to where to go?"

"It spirals down quite a ways." Roll answered, "It looks like what you want is all the way at the bottom."

"How did I know she was going to say that?" Reps huffed, annoyed at the dependability of a Megaman world, "Fine then! Let's get going!"

Charging up his laser, Reps created a huge hole in the Reaverbots and took off, the others following behind him.

Gate Tower Ruins: Bottom Floor

"Weren't those floors just action-packed and all full of excitement?" Ryan shouted towards the camera.

"How did you guys get all the way to the bottom so quick?" Tron asked over the com.

"Funny you should ask that." Sora started, "I've noticed that occurring every since I met them…you see, I think it's because of…"

"Sorry to cut you guys off, but I don't think we can allow you to go any further." A familiar voice stated.

"That voice! It can't be!" Tron shouted, "Tiesel!"

"Hahahahahaha! If it isn't our dear sister, I was wondering if we'd ever hear your voice again." Tiesel cackled, "We found a way to survive after we were left behind in those ruins…we found a power unlike anything on this planet!"

"Be careful, I can detect Biometal W all around him." Zeta stated, "Ouroboros…"

"Whatza who?" Dark questioned.

"Ouroboros is the giant Biometal created for the king of Megamen." Zeta explained, "It had a power far beyond any of the other Biometal because it could consume the very soul of a person from their fear."

"Damn!" Reps gasped, "Well, what do we do? We can't risk hurting them, but with that W thing possessing them we can't afford not fighting…"

"There's just one thing to do." Dark stated, "Let's all share a nice cup of tea!"

*insert massive facefaulting here*

"Tea! TEA? That's your big idea?" Ryan shouted.

"Well, it worked for Zelda and Peach in Brawl, didn't it?" Dark chuckled, "Anyway, if we just beat them senseless that "Ourbors" thingy should let them go, right?"

"Yes…and it's Ouroboros." Zeta grumbled.

Just as our heroes were gearing up for a huge massive battle, a loud booming voice cried out: "ENOUGH!"

Appearing in a beam of light was a man of Japanese descent, looking quite pissed off.

"Who the hell are you?" Ryan asked, "And why are you interrupting our battle?"

"My name is Keiji Inafune and I've had enough of this bastardizing of my world!" Keiji shouted, "I tolerated you interlopers goofing around before because you didn't do so much to alter my world…but this time you've gone too far. Do you know how many plot holes I have to fill in now because of you?"

"Um…we're sorry?" Dark offered, unsure just what the hell was happening.

"Ugh…honestly, this isn't anywhere near how I'd have had things go at the end." Keiji stated, snapping his fingers and turning Tiesel and Bon back to normal, "Odd…why didn't that make Ouroboros disappear too?"

As if to answer his question, out stepped the mysterious girl from before and on cue, the mysterious reaverbot appeared behind her.

"It's you again…I see now then." Reps surmised.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, "What did you just happen to figure out?"

"Back when Yoshi told us about that gate he found, he said that he'd heard of something like that before." Reps explained, "So I've been doing some research into historical artifacts and such."

"And? What did you find out because I don't think I'm going to like it?" Trigger queried.

"The reason you can't control Ouroboros Mr. Inafune is because of her…isn't that right, Suzaku, Red Bird of the South!" Reps shouted, pointing at the girl accusingly.

"Yes…I apologize, but I never meant for any of this to happen." Suzaku stated, "When the signal went out from the Cardinal Gate, I went to the pre-determined meeting place…but when I got there I was the only one to arrive. I attempted to find out what happened to the others but…"

"That's enough out of you!" The Reaverbot shouted in a garbled voice, "Your power is mine Suzaku, and so are you! You will recombine with me so that I can take over this filthy planet and then I'll use your powers to rule the entire galaxy."

"What is it with the villains and their delusions of grandeur?" Ryan sighed, "Can't we get just one villain with more attainable aspirations?"

"Silence!" Suzaku shouted, merging with the Reaverbot, "I have the power of a god…you can't believe you stand a chance against me."

"Heh, funny thing about us." Dark quipped, "We tend to believe the craziest stuff…and I say we're going to take you down without any trouble."

"Ouroboros is one of my more troublesome creations." Keiji stated, "However, it's only as powerful as the person controlling it; take them down and Ouroboros will follow."

"Then let's split its focus! That thing controlling Suzaku can't possible fight us all at once." Trigger shouted, charging headlong into battle.

"Always impatient!" Ryan chuckled, following him.

As they had figured, with the seven of them fighting, the fake Suzaku had its hands full keeping tabs on everyone.

"Argh! Stand still you insects!" "Suzaku" shouted, unleashing a wave of fire across the field.

"It seems to be working…but we aren't inflicting any damage." Dark grimaced, "Any ideas here guys?"

"Well, she's a god right? What can take down a god?" Reps asked.

"A politician?" Ryan quipped.

"Well, we don't have any of those around." Sora sighed, "Isn't there anything?"

"I'm afraid the only way to defeat "her" right now is with another biometal." Keiji added in, "That would explain why this isn't working."

"And where was this useful information about ten minutes ago?" Dark grumbled.  
"Not to worry, I'm here!" Zeta shouted, flying towards Dark.

"Sweet! Rock on Model Zeta!" Dark shouted, transforming and then jumping at "Suzaku".

"What's this? You fool! You can't stop a god!" "Suzaku" shouted, charging up an attack.

"It's a good thing you're no god then!" Dark replied, pulling out his Keysaber and implanting it right into the Reaverbot's skull.

"How…could a mortal like you…destroy a god?" "Suzaku" murmured before twitching and exploding in a dazzling fireball, "Argh!"

"Easy…I'm no mortal." Dark calmly replied, de-transforming and posing, "Ah still got it!"

"That was…anticlimactic." Trigger quipped, "I was expecting more from that."

From the smoke, a single glowing light could be seen; a dark orange flame surrounding the form of the girl.

"Well, ask and you shall receive Trigger." Ryan joked, "Suzaku…are you okay?"

The flames twirled and whirled about before the assumed a familiar shape, that of a phoenix.

"Heroes of the Gate, I thank thee for your courage and assistance in freeing me from that horrid creation." Suzaku boomed forth, "In return for your bravery, I grant you my seal."

Holding out his hand, a red badge like item with Suzaku's name on it materialized from her flames.

"Thank you Suzaku…I'm sure this shall come in handy." Ryan replied, bowing his head.

"I do have one small favor to ask…it involves the others of the Cardinal Gate." Suzaku began, "I was unable to make contact with them and worry they too have fallen under the spells of others. I humbly beg for your help heroes…please save my brethren so they may join to save our worlds."

"Don't worry Suzaku…we'll find the others and help them." Dark assured her, "We're the heroes of this gig after all."

"Indeed." Suzaku laughed, "Then I shall be moving on to where I'm needed. Till next we meet heroes…good luck."

With that, Suzaku swirled her flames and took off through the tower, disappearing from sight.

"The others aren't going to believe any of this." Trigger sighed, "Why haven't we heard from them anyway?"

"That's easy enough." Zeta replied, "I was linking the signals and when I came to help, they lost the link."

"Plothole filled! Onward!" Dark shouted, heading back towards the entrance.

"You interlopers are too much…I'm going back to where I'm needed." Keiji stated, vanishing from sight as well.

Back at Digger's HQ

"No freaking way! You met a god!" Barrel shouted, "I have to say that's quite the story…but with the water levels returning to normal, it would seem that you may be telling the truth."

"Of course we are…but we can't hang around." Sora stated, "Suzaku mentioned something about others and I figure there's three more if that Gate thing has five slots."

"Makes sense so we won't keep you guys." Roll replied, "You keep Darkness in line Alia."  
"Heh, I will, don't you worry about that." Alia laughed.

"What?" Dark stated, feeling as if he was being made the fool, "I swear…crazy women."

"Trigger, Tron, Roll….good luck in rebuilding." Ryan offered, "And remember, you know how to reach us if things get dicey."

"Gotcha…I'll keep Trigger busy." Tron stated, before blushing, "I mean…oh…just go already!"

"I saw that." Ryan joked, "Okay, we're out of here guys!"

With that, the four heroes beamed up to the Outlaw Star and headed off for their next destination.

Space

"So, one down, three to go is it?" Gilliam stated, "I must say this is turning into quite the adventure."

"Yes…gods and all that…what is the Organization thinking doing this kind of stuff?" Reps grumbled, "Anyway, I'm going to rest before our next wonderful outing."

"Okay, Gilliam, set course for the next spot closest on the map." Ryan dictated, "We're going to rest up…this one is going to take awhile to sink in. Gods and badges and gates…"

"Acknowledged." Gilliam stated, "Course set and arrival estimated in 9 hours."

'This badge…' Dark thought, looking it over, 'I don't like it…I can't help but get this creepy feeling from it…foreboding or some such shit. Eh, whatever we run in to will take on regardless…'

With that, Dark crashed on the couch and began to dream…


	10. waxing and wanding

**DDR HEARTS 2: Decision – waxing and wanding**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

?

They say that when we dream, we go to another place, another realm; that what we experience there is real to us because it is real.

Soon, our heroes will discover that this saying is more real than anyone ever dare dreamed.

Running from what appeared to be distorted versions of his friends; Darkness Shade was desperately trying to escape until he ran into a blinding flash of light.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Dark shouted, falling downwards and landing with a plop somewhere, "Oh, my poor head…where am I?"

Picking up his head and looking around, he noticed the area was deserted, save for another human-shaped creature collapsed on the ground.

"Huh? Who the hell's that?" Dark asked aloud, slowly walking over to the person.

"Ugh…someone get the number of that bus?" Ryan grumbled, sluggishly making his way to his feet, "Oh, hey Dark…what are you doing here? Are we dreaming again?"

"It seems so…but this doesn't look like that creepy town." Dark replied, noting the surrounding garden-esque area with a courtyard gated off from the rest of it.

"Should we look around?" Ryan questioned, taking Dark's hand and pulling himself up, "I'm getting some strange vibe from this place."

Nodding and leading the way, Dark walked through the main opening of the gate and noted a fountain was in the middle of the courtyard, with a large empty doorway on each side of it.

"Well there's something you don't see everyday." Ryan quipped, noting a large, well-dressed owl slowly making his way to them.

"Greetings Visitors." The owl stated, "I am Owl…and I must say I'm surprised to see two of you at the same time. I can't recall the last time that happened before…it has been many years."

"Um…okay…hello Owl. Where are we?" Ryan asked, while Dark merely eyed Owl strangely.

"You are in Nightopia, or more precisely, the Dream Gate to Nightopia." Owl explained, before being shoved aside by what appeared to be a man.

"Oh, they don't want to hear all that nonsense." The man said, before winking, "I'm NiGHTS!"

"Well, a man clad entirely in purple…this dream just gets weirder." Ryan quipped.

"Oh, I'm not a man." NiGHTS quickly replied back.

"…" Ryan stated, blinking before turning his attention back to Owl, "Um, you okay?"

"Oh, I'll be fine…you mustn't be so impulsive NiGHTS." Owl replied, "I do say though, for you to be here Visitors, you must've been able to maintain hold of your Ideya."

"Idea ya?" Dark pondered aloud, puzzled by this word.

"No, I-de-ya." NiGHTS corrected, "You can see the glow coming from your hands."

"Well I'll be damned, the androgynous clown thing is right." Ryan chuckled, seeing his hands alternate from blue to white with a strong red glow overlaying it, "Huh? Three colors eh?"

"Seems so Ryan." Dark replied, showing his hand which glowed with the same colors.

"Well my, that's quite peculiar; to have three Ideya must mean you two are very strong of heart." Owl remarked, taken aback at this discovery.

"Hmm…" Dark murmured, pulling something out and handing it to Owl.

"What's this?" Owl remarked, looking over the object.

"Until we need to know how many licks it takes to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop we'll talk, but until then Mr. Owl I think we'll figure things out from NiGHTS." Dark remarked with a serious tone.

NiGHTS couldn't contain himself and just let loose with violent laughter as Owl was flustered and very irate about the situation.

"Why you…such impudence…I never." Owl fumed, tossing aside the lollipop and grumbling to himself.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently tossing Ryan and Dark around.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, before vanishing.

"Where did he go?" Dark shouted in confusion and worry, before slowly fading out himself.

"Oh bugger, it looks like they woke up." NiGHTS grumbled with a sigh, "Now what am I supposed to do till they come back?"

At this, an ominous laughter filled the courtyard as NiGHTS was caught off guard…

Back at the Outlaw Star

"Wake up you morons!" Reps shouted as the ship was careening wildly, "Something huge just flew passed and nearly knocked us to pieces!"

"That dream…déjà vu." Ryan mumbled, before hopping into the cockpit, "Okay, stay frosty. Something had to have been chasing whatever hit us for it to be flying so wildly."

"I've got something on the radar! It's huge!" Alia warned, "Brace for Impact!"

The Outlaw Star crew readied themselves as best they could but it was all for naught as a large, something or other crashed right into them, knocking them off into the distance with all the comedic action of a Team Rocket star twinkle.

?

Dark grumbled as he slowly opened his eyes, grimacing as his body refused to listen to him.

"Oh God…what hit us? Where is everybody?" Dark asked, before noticing a small green humanoid looking thing sitting on his chest, "Oh, hey there little guy; do you know where I am?"

"We are glad to see you have awakened young fan."

"Who said that?" Dark stated, looking around as he stood up, "Oh, sorry little guy…forgot you were on my chest."

The little green dude just waved his hands from his perch on Dark's shoulder and pointed upwards.

"Huh? Up there?" Dark stated, looking up, and dropping his jaw, "What. The. Fuck?"

"We welcome you to our humble abode and apologize about our…altercation." A very tall man stated, decked out in some unusual clothing, "We are regretful of our actions."

"Um…it's okay." Dark recovered, blinking to make sure he wasn't seeing things, "So, do you know where my friends are?"

"We do and yet we do not. The King of All Cosmos knows approximately where your friends are and shall do all we can to help you." The King stated.

"Really? That's awesome!" Dark shouted, "So…where do we start?"

"We start by sending you to Earth!" the King shouted, blanking the screen momentarily as Dark and his shoulder pal were teleported to Earth.

Earth

"That was…an odd transition." Dark mumbled, "Oh hey, what's this?"

Stationed right in front of him was a large, spherical object that seemed to call to him.

"Huh? What's that little guy?" Dark stated, "Oh yeah, my name is Darkness Shade but you can call me Dark…and your name? The Prince of All Cosmos, eh? So that guy's your dad huh?"

The Prince sighed lightly and pointed at the ball.

"Okay, so that thing's a Katamari and I push it?" Dark questioned, putting his hands on it, "I feel compelled to stick things to this giant ball of mine."

"We are pleased you find this to your liking." The King boomed, "We detect one of your friends nearby; though we can't say where. I'm sure you'll find him while rolling around. Just keep doing that till you find your friend and we'll check back on you. Have fun!"

"Your dad is weird." Dark commented with a chuckle, "Okay, so just push eh?"

Cautiously as he had no idea what he was doing, Dark began pushing the Katamari forward and soon picked up some potted plants.

"Oh hey, this is pretty easy; I wonder who's nearby though?" Dark murmured as the Prince tugged on his ear, "Eh? You want me to go that way little guy?"

Turning to his right, Dark plowed right through a carnival and picked up an assorted number of cats, dogs, and goldfish.

"Oh my God; did I just pick up a freakin' cat with this thing!" Dark shouted in glee, "That's fucking awesome!"

Now addicted and tempted to see just what he could eventually roll up, nothing was safe as Dark laid waste to the whole carnival till he'd attached people, food, more animals, and even the booths themselves.

"This is so much damn fun!" Dark shouted in giddy joy, "Let's see what I can roll up now that this thing is bigger!"

Meanwhile, in another section of town, two cloaked figures were arguing amongst themselves about something.

"I told you they weren't here." Shouted an eye-patch wearing man in a slight surfer accent, "Heh, and you're supposed to be my analog? With a crappy name like Nix and some dumb hat I'm not impressed."

"What was that, Xigbar!" Nix shouted, pulling out his guns and pointing them at Xigbar's head…only for Xigbar to point his guns at Nix's head.

"Wait, wait, wait…this is crazy." Xigbar stated, lowering his guns as Nix lowered his, "Russian Roulette is how to do this one!"

"Isn't that a little…what in the worlds is that?" Nix stated, pointing at an object in the distance that was slowly coming closer.

"I don't know…it looks like some type of sphere but what could it be?" Xigbar pondered before seeing someone running by, "Hey you, what is that thing?"

"I don't know!" The guy shouted, "But it's grabbing anyone and anything it touches! Run for your fucking lives!"

Tossing the guy aside, Xigbar did not look amused with the explanation.

"Oh God, you want to go see what it is don't you?" Nix asked with a sigh, "Huh? Isn't that that Sora dude?"

"Where?" Xigbar shouted, not realizing the shadow overtaking them, "Oh shi-"

"What the hell did we hit?" Dark questioned, feeling a huge bump as he continued rolling.

"You just had to want to see it." Nix grumbled, "God I hope this thing rolls over a liquor store soon."

"Get me off this crazy thing!" Xigbar shouted, "Ugh…I think I'm going to be sick."

"Did you hear something the Prince?" Dark asked, looking at his partner in Katamaring.

The Prince just shrugged and then pointed towards some type of commotion.

"Let's go find out what's going on then." Dark said, rotating the Katamari around and heading towards…

"Why the hell am I hanging upside down from a hot air balloon?" Reps shouted, still trying to untangle himself from the ropes that bound his legs, "Dammit…I could jet away if I weren't so tangled."

Oblivious to anything but his dilemma, Reps was taken by surprise when his world soon began to spin around and around.

"What…the…hell…is…going…on?" Reps shouted in piecemeal as he was spun around the Katamari.

"Huh? You seemed to have rolled over some strange metal raccoon dog thing…ick." The King stated upon this discovery.

"I'm…a…hedgehog…dammit!" Reps shouted in reply, "Get…it…straight!"

"Reps? That you buddy?" Dark questioned, slowing the Katamari.

"Oh Thank God." Reps murmured, "Yeah, it's me. What the hell are you doing?"

"Rolling a plentiful Katamari!" Dark shouted, striking a pose…which the Prince promptly mimicked on his shoulder, "Anyway, good I found you…now I have one last thing I have to roll up."

"What? Wait…no…stop…I'm…going…to…murder…you!" Reps shouted as he was once again spun around as Dark headed for his target.

"If I left here and didn't roll up a huge skyscraper I'd regret it!" Dark shouted, rolling up a whole block of them before being timed out by a whistle.

"We are back…our soap operas are finally over." The King commented, "What is this thing we see before us? Did you make this magnificent creation young fan? We are brought to tears at the size of this thing!"

"That's cool and all; I found one of my friends too so…what now?" Dark questioned.

"We bring you back and take care of that Katamari you rolled!" The King shouted, "ROYAL RAINBOW!"

Dark looked left and right as a huge cavalcade of colors overcame him and only one thought crossed his mind: 'Someone's feeling FABULOUSSS~'.

Space

"Amazing…simply amazing that all these thing are on Earth." The King stated, "Oh, and it's your friend Reps…what's that? You're really a hedgehog? We don't understand but good for you anyway."

"I feel so sick." Reps mumbled, collapsing in front of Dark, "I will end you one day for this."

"So, what happens now?" Dark queried.

"Now we shall turn this into a portion of what we were chasing in the first place." The King stated, "We ashamedly admit we smashed what it was to pieces before knocking you off course."

Tossing the Katamari upwards, The King snapped his fingers and it formed the first part of a constellation of some type, though it was none Dark recognized.

"Excuse me? Where am I?" echoed a small voice.

Looking around, Dark noticed a tiny blue-haired woman, adorned in a kimono of some type.

"Well, hello there." Dark stated, kneeling down to look at her, "Where did you come from?"

"I was born from that up there." She stated, pointing upwards at the new constellation piece, "I don't know why I'm so small or anything…except that that tall guy there is the reason I'm like this."

"We apologize…but we had our reasons for chasing you and then what happened. We hope we can explain in time." The King replied, "We are sorry."

"It's okay." She stated, "I think I'll wait here with this one until more of me is reunited."

Looking left, than right (he's doing that a lot today it seems), Dark pointed at himself and shrugged.

"Sure thing cutie." Dark replied with a smile, picking up the doll-sized girl and placing her on his shoulder, "Looks like you've got this one Reps."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Reps questioned, standing up and then finding the Prince on his shoulder, "Oh ho! Now the ball is in Reps' court!"

"We are amused by this but there is no time for that now. We have found another one of your friends so prepare metal fan for your turn. We command it!" The King shouted, snapping his fingers and flicking Reps to Earth.

"ARGH!" Reps screamed as he re-entered the atmosphere, "You guys suck!"

Earth: Area 2

Landing with a thud, Reps dusted himself off and found his Katamari ready and willing to go.

"Finally, now I get to give some payback!" Reps shouted, grabbing a hold of his Katamari and plowing through everything in site, "Pay Pay! You'll all pay!"

The Prince was helpless to do anything but watch with a sigh as poor Reps lost his mind.

Meanwhile…

"Ugh…where the hell are we?" Ryan groaned, sitting up and clutching his head, "Dammit…feels like I fell through a building."

"You kind of did Mr. Ryan." Stated a nurse that was looking over his charts, "We were rather surprised you survived."

"Well, he did land on his head and that thing is like some unknown alloy when it comes to density." Sora joked, "Welcome back to the land of the living."

"The others…where are they?" Ryan asked, trying to stand up slowly.

"Somewhere lost in this city…though I don't think they'll be too hard to find." Sora replied, catching Ryan before he fell over, "Take it easy, we'll find them."

"Yeah…yeah." Ryan muttered before regaining his balance, "I'm okay now so let's go find the others."

Exiting the Hospital, Ryan and Sora thought it odd that the streets were bare, devoid of any signs of life.

"Um, what the heck is going on? Where is everybody?" Ryan managed to ask before a loud thump sound passed behind them and the hospital was nowhere to be seen, "Sora…where did the hospital go? Sora?"

Looking to his left, Sora was suspiciously absent, leaving Ryan to ponder where everyone had gone.

"Did you feel something?" Reps asked the Prince, "I hope it was them…they'll pay for my suffering!"

"Oh my…you seemed to have run over some loud, spiky knick-knack." The King announced.

"Dammit…this…sucks!" Sora shouted, "And I'm not a knick-knack!"

"Ah ha! I found one of them!" Reps shouted in joy, "Now to find Ryan."

"Just what in the name of Banco Namdai do you think you're doing?" Ryan questioned, flying up behind him, "I think you've had just a little too much fun there Reps."

"The hell I have! I finally have the power!" Reps shouted, "Now get on my sticky ball!"

"Ugh….that just does not sound right." Ryan groaned, "Look, I'm here so why don't we just finish up and head back to wherever it is you got this thing from?"

"Argh…fine." Reps grumbled, unhappy that the ball was leaving his court, "This isn't over yet…not by a long shot."

"Are we quite finished babbling?" The King asked, "We have more important things to handle then listening to your squabbling…the laundry is burning and the food needs ironed."

"Wait….doesn't he have that backwards?" Sora asked before they were overcome by the ROYAL RAINBOW, "Oh God…did Demyx come back?"

Space

"Ah, you made it back!" Dark shouted, seeing Sora and Ryan standing next to Reps.

"I think I'm going to hurl." Sora groaned, clutching his stomach and looking a little pale, "Reps plus giant ball of doom equals no good."

"My my, there are such interesting things on Earth." The King stated, "Ah, it's your friends Ryan and Sora…huh? You were recovering from a concussion? That sounds lazy. Anyway, let Us toss this into the sky and complete another part of the constellation."

With a little fanfare and some dazzling effects, the second Katamari exploded and became the next star in line.

"Whoa, you had a growth spurt." Dark joked, seeing the blue-haired girl shoot up to about three feet tall, "Remember anything else yet?"

"I still don't seem to…though my name…I think it starts with an S." the girl replied, plopping down in Dark's lap, "I still dislike the big guy though."

"We still apologize profusely…We admit we get distracted easily." The King replied, "Anyway, it would seem we've found your ship…or at least part of it. The other part seems to be moving around of its own accord as a Katamari…followed by some black icky things."

"What, another one?" Ryan asked, "How many of these damn things are there?"

"For this task two of you must work together…and since the Prince is with the spiky one our recent recovered players take their place!" The King decreed, "Now off with you!"

Fuzzing the screen, The King used his awesome powers of awesome awesomeness and such…hey, don't give me that look!

Earth: Final Area

"Are you sure this'll draw them out?" Nix grumbled at Xigbar, "We've been pushing for awhile."

"Well, we'd have been more effective if you would just listen to me dammit." Xigbar replied, "When I say left, I mean it!"

"The Organization…I wondered when we'd see them next." Ryan quipped, "Well Sora…shall we get this ball rolling?"

"Oh, that was a horrible pun Ryan." Sora groaned, an action the Prince mimicked, "Heh, I like this little guy."

"We must warn you…until you are big enough to roll them up we'd advise staying away from their area." The King cautioned, "Now roll! Rolleth a plentiful Katamari and fix my mistakes!"

"I don't like how he stated that but okay…onward!" Ryan shouted, pushing the ball forward…and going nowhere.

"It seems we have to move in sync in order to push this one Ryan." Sora advised, "So, let's work together…1, 2, 3, Up!"

Pushing in the same direction, the Katamari began to roll and pick up everything and anything in its path…and we do mean everything.

"Oh look, I think those fools are trying to challenge us." Nix stated, pointing at the ever growing Katamari of the heroes.

"They seem to be making theirs rather quickly…" Xigbar grumbled, "We need to keep rolling ours so come on!"

"I wish you'd stop yelling at me dammit!" Nix shouted, pulling out his guns and pointing them at Xigbar again…which led to another Mexican standoff.

"Good help is so hard to find." Xigbar stated with a sigh, holding his position.

"Up! Up! Down! Down! Left! Right! Left! Right!" Ryan and Sora shouted in unison as the Prince cheered them on.

"Do you think it's big enough yet?" Sora questioned as they rolled over an oil tanker, "And how are we breathing anyway?"  
"Duh, the goggles…for once they're doing something!" Ryan shouted, "I guess the snorkel helps too."

"Anyway, I think the Prince has an idea…he's been making this same motion for awhile now." Ryan explained, nodding at the Prince's frantic motions.

"Move our hands up and down really fast…I don't see how that'll help." Sora stated, doing the motion in tandem with Ryan which resulted in them tearing off at high speed, "What the hell?"

"What do you mean a dash attack?" Ryan questioned the Prince, who just shrugged his shoulders and stuck out his tongue.

"How long are we going to stand like this?" Nix asked, his guns still pointed at Xigbar.

"As long as it takes." Xigbar replied, "Do you…hear something?"

Looking to their right, they saw an enormous Katamari come flying at them at high speed.

"Oh this is going to hurt." Nix sighed, "Why did I get partnered with you?"

"Shit…" Xigbar grumbled as he and Nix were sent flying and their Katamari was rolled up by Ryan and Sora.

"ROLL UP! We see you used an advanced technique. Well done young fans, the Prince has taught you well." The King stated at their triumph, "Now, let us return and finish fixing what we have wrought. ROYAL RAINBOW."

"Jeez…now I know how Endrance must see things." Ryan quipped.

"Shhh, you aren't supposed to know about him yet." Sora sighed, jabbing him in the side.

Space

"Okay, we got our ship back…and we've rolled up another two huge Katamari." Ryan stated, "Does this mean we get to find out what finally happened yet?"

"I believe all should be revealed now young fans." The King shouted, taking the two Katamari, "My, Earth really does have a lot of junk lying around…ick, and it's those two black bugs again."

"This is entirely your fault." Nix sighed, "Dammit…"

"You just didn't want to settle things with a nice game of Russian Roulette, which would've prevented any of this from happening." Xigbar groaned in reply.

"Enough of that." The King stated, tossing the Katamari in the sky and finishing the constellation, which took on a familiar shape.

"Is that…a dragon?" Dark questioned, suddenly noting he wasn't standing on empty space anymore, "Eeep!"

"Young warrior, do not fret." Stated the blue-haired girl, who was now as tall as the King "You have returned my shattered form to normal and I thank you for that."

"Wow, that's one way to go up in the world. Anyway, can you all explain just what's going on here?" Ryan questioned.

"We would be glad to young fan." The King began, "Some time ago we felt a disturbance in the Cosmos and investigated. Turns out some foolish fan activated an ancient device and signaled the four guardians."

"Four guardians? Wait…so if Suzaku is of the South then that would mean…of course, the constellation gives it away." Reps mumbled loudly.

"Then you're the Azure Dragon of the East, Seiryuu?" Dark asked, looking up at her.

"Yes, that is my title. I think you for repairing my fractured mind." Seiryuu replied, setting Dark down, "And I also am very upset with you King."

"We apologize…we did not mean to make you explode like that. When we saw you we knew what may have been going on but you were acting very erractic." The King explained, "Then our young friends appeared and well…We could not stop ourselves from colliding with everyone."

"Hmmm…well, I admit my mind was not focused. Someone activating the Cardinal Gate was enough to make me worry but I suppose now that I'm back together I can let it go. I need to meet up with the others anyway; at least, I assume the others are okay since you mentioned Suzaku." Seiryuu stated.

"Well, she's okay but I'm not sure about the other two…" Sora said, shrugging, "She just said that the others seemed to be in trouble too so…and here we are."

"I see…if you travel north of here you may find another of our comrades." Seiryuu stated, handing Dark a dark blue badge, "I believe he was always drawn to a specific planet there; something about great occurrences happened there that always drew his attention."

"We will Seiryuu, and thank you for your symbol." Dark replied back with a bow, "We'll find the others and try to fix this mess."

"I'm sure you will, but for now I'm off to contact Suzaku and find out what else is happening. Farewell heroes." Seiryuu stated, taking off in a flash of light.

"Oh snap!" Dark shouted, grabbing his head in worry, "I totally forgot about her!"

"What's wrong? Forget about who…oh snap, Alia!" Ryan shouted in reply, "She was still in the ship wasn't she?"

"Young fans, you should not worry about those aboard this ship." The King stated, placing the reassembled Outlaw Star next to them, "They won't have any recollection of what happened and will seem to not know time passed."

"Well, that's convenient then." Reps stated with a shrug and a laugh.

"We thank you for your help and hope we see you again…it's been interesting." The King replied, as the group entered the ship and flew off towards their next endeavor.

Outlaw Star: Bridge

"I find that hard to believe." Alia stated, "Giant clumpy balls, huge guys, a dragon, and motion sickness. I don't think I'd have missed that."

"Well, it did happen." Dark replied, showing her the badge, "Where else could we have gotten this?"

"I think we got lucky to be honest." Gilliam chimed in, "For once we didn't get caught up in the shenanigans of yours."

"We? I don't think you've had much to do with some of our adventures…maybe the aftermaths but nothing beyond that." Ryan answered back, "Are you sure you aren't confusing us with your old crew?"

"Perhaps…I wonder how they're doing sometimes…till I remember I was lost in a poker game by their captain." Gilliam replied, "I've set course for the planet that this Seiryuu person most likely meant; we'll arrive in several hours so I'd rest if I were you."

"Well, I'm taking Gilliam's advice…my stomach still feels urpy." Sora sighed, heading towards his room.

"Well, I'll head off too." Ryan stated, making his leave as well.

Looking to his left, Dark noted Reps already seemed to be snoozing, no doubt overwhelmed again from the crazies.

Figuring he was the only one besides Alia left awake, Dark flopped on the couch again and was out like a light…

The Dream Gate

….however, that was just the beginning again as Dark found himself in a rather familiar place.

"Oh God, not this shit again…why can't I have normal dreams like some people?" Dark asked to the heavens.

"Because then it'd be boring." Ryan replied, "Things seems different here than last time."

"Thank goodness! It's you two!" Owl shouted, flying in from nowhere, "I was hiding because…because...NiGHTS has been kidnapped!"

"What? What the hell do you mean kidnapped?" Dark shouted, "How do you kidnap a dream creature?"

"They…they left a note…by that creepy looking gate." Owl timidly stated, "I've been too afraid to approach it."

"Well, let's find out what they want then." Ryan replied, walking over towards it, "Jeez…someone has some funky design issues."

"Apparently so." Dark agreed, taking the note off the handle and reading it: "I don't think we need to explain who we are; Owl should know that well enough. We've kidnapped NiGHTS and we'll soon be back for the precious Ideya from those Visitors…unless they feel foolish enough to try and save NiGHTS. No visitor has really ever entered NiGHTMaRe but maybe these two can. *evil cackle* I want to hear them scream in delightful terror when we take their Ideya and then correct NiGHTS' error filled ways. Come face us if you dear. ~R&J"

"Who the heck are R&J?" Ryan asked Owl, looking for some clarification on the note

"Reala and Jackle are two of Wizeman the Wicked's top NiGHTMaReN. They must've been the two that took NiGHTS." Owl explained, "I was too scared to look after NiGHTS shoved me out of the way."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Dark asked with a grin, placing his hand on the door, "You up for seeing what a real NiGHTMaRe truly is?"

"I'm always up for adventure bro." Ryan replied, putting his hand on the door and pushing it open.

"Oh bother…I hope this doesn't go badly." Owl replied, watching the two of them step through the door and then shut behind them, "Visitors…good luck."


	11. Ganymede

**DDR HEARTS 2: Decision – Ganymede**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

NiGHTMaRe…?

"What is this place? It sure doesn't look very scary." Ryan commented, noting the other side of the gate had placed them in front of a stylized castle of sorts, "Do NiGHTMaRes have a taste for the old-school medieval look?"

"Maybe this is that Wizeman the Wicked's personal desire or something?" Dark questioned with a shrug, "Anyway, we need to find NiGHTS…but…this castle is huge. He could be anywhere."

"Well, we could always just walk in the front gate." Ryan stated, crossing the threshold of the castle way and entering.

"They're making it quite obvious this is a trap." Dark groaned, following Ryan into the entrance.  
With a loud clang, a giant metal gate came crashing down, effectively barring any retreat should our heroes have thought such.

"Well, nowhere to go but forward it would seem." Dark joked, "I wish we could get some kind of bead on NiGHTS."

"Maybe we can…they mentioned these Ideya thingies are important, right?" Ryan asked, holding up his hand, "Maybe NiGHTS is attuned to them or something…that would sort of make sense, right?"

"Of course…if he was, then we could use our Ideya to get some type of lock on his position in this place…which is looking less like a castle now that we're in it." Dark stated, looking at their altering surroundings, "I suppose like real NiGHTMaRes this place can alter itself as well; that might make things a bit harder."

Nodding and focusing on his hand, Ryan managed to make his Ideya appear and tried to feel out any type reaction to them.

"I'm not getting a real strong lock on anything." Ryan sighed, "I almost thought for certain that would work."

"Let's both try it." Dark suggested, placing his hand on Ryan's and focusing with him, "Maybe both our Ideya have enough power."

Thinking this to be pretty sound logic, Ryan focused again and could make a slight attraction…something was definitely sending back a signal from the Ideya.

"I felt that too…I think its NiGHTS." Dark stated, heading in an eastern direction, "There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to these hallways so be on guard."

"You don't have to tell me." Ryan replied, "This place is crazier than we are."

After running (despite the floor having vanished some time prior), our two heroes finally came upon some sign of other directions: a number of doors on either side of the hallway.

"Well, just seems like we get to choose our fate, huh? The signal seems to be coming from all of these doors so I think they're throwing us off." Dark grumbled, "Well, I hear opera music coming from that door so I think we'll avoid that one."

"Okay, that just leaves another 6." Ryan stated, "That one there is giving me this uber-creepy vibe so I think we should just stay away from that one too."

"Okay, let me look in this one then." Dark stated, slowly opening a door to his right and peering in, "Hmmm…I don't see anything in here except a big clock-tower looking thing and some type of pot."

"Oh well, let's not go in there then." Ryan replied, opening door opposite it, "I just see some type of giant glass bowl, nothing in here either."

"What kind of weird NiGHTMaRe things are these?" Dark huffed, "Well, let's try that one then, something about it speaks to me."

Opening the door, Dark found it led down an oddly designed set of stairs into a rather patch-work style of room; the floor adorned in checker and card suit patterns with overly sized jack-in-the-boxes situated in the middle.

"Whoever styled this doesn't know much about NiGHTMaRes since this place looks kicking!" Dark shouted, "Dude, there's even a wacky loop-around effect to this room. It's breaking all known laws of physics."

"Yeah, that's cool and all, but what is with the giant guillotine?" Ryan asked, pointing to it in the corner.

"Oh come on, that's the cornerstone of this place." Dark replied, "Oh hey, a strange looking portal. Shiny!"

"Dark! Wait!" Ryan shouted, but not soon enough as Dark ran headlong into it, "God only knows where this'll lead us."

Setting of a Tragedic Revenge

"Ugh…shiny things are dangerous." Dark commented, rubbing his head, "And so are you…you need to lose weight."

"Hey, I chased after your ass Dark; you just ran blindly into what could've been a trap or something." Ryan heaved with a sigh, "Okay, so we're in some long winding staircase. Guess we go up."

Making their way up and around the spiral, Dark noticed that outside the windows was an odd sight…or rather a lack of one.

"I get the feeling we're being watched." Dark commented, "I've got that familiar chill up my spine like someone's got their eyes on us."

"Normally I'd say you're being facetious but with this place who knows." Ryan replied with a shrug, "I think we're nearing the top so shush; I want to have some element of surprise."

"You know they won't come." Reala stated, "No visitors have been able to deal with the inner workings of NiGHTMaRe save for those ridiculously short instances when they were dualized with you."

"Heh, these two are different. I knew that the moment I met them." NiGHTS replied from his cage, pulling at his shackles, "They'll come for me and see through all this that Wizeman so prizes."

"Hahahahahahaha! I'd love to see that!" Jackle cackled, sitting at a table and shuffling his cards, "It's been so very boring lately."

"Heh, you shouldn't get Jackle too excited NiGHTS. If he gets too excited and nothing happens, he'll have to take that aggression out on you." Reala stated with a chuckle, "Besides, we all know that without you to dualize with, those visitors will be defenseless."

"Defenseless? This coming from someone who obviously wears a bit too much makeup." Ryan commented, trying to make a dramatic entrance.

"What? But how? You couldn't…no way." Reala stated, slightly dumbfounded, "And I do not wear makeup!"

"Birthday suit yourself, drag-queen man." Ryan scoffed, "We're here for NiGHTS and…Dark? Where the hell did he go?"

Panning the screen, we see Darkness in a lively chat with Jackle.

"Ah, so that was your room. I must say your decorating skills are impressive." Dark stated, "I'd like to know how one feng-shui's in such a manner."

"How delightful! See Reala, someone else that likes my style. He has such an incredible eye for detail." Jackle stated, shuffling his deck, "Would you like to play a game while we talk?"

"Sure, why not? I mean you seem random enough to trust…and I love being random!" Dark stated, sitting across from him.

"I'm not even sure how…you know what, it doesn't matter!" Reala shouted, pointing at Ryan, "I don't know how you managed to traverse NiGHTMaRe like you did but you won't go any further. Without NiGHTS to dualize with you can't stop me."

"Dualize? Oh, I take it you mean combine with him. Yeah, that'd be kind of helpful…if I couldn't do this." Ryan nonchalantly stated as he willed forth his Keysaber, "I've got more than enough power to pack my own heat."

"Well now, this is quite the development." Reala murmured into a creepy, cackling laugh, "Finally, a visitor that might actually be a challenge on their own…it's been so long since I've met one like that. This will be quite delicious."

"That was kind of creepy dude." Ryan stated in disgust, "Either way, you're going down!"

Charging at Reala, Ryan was surprised at how fast he could move and barely reacted in time to stop his claw from tearing him up.

"Excellent! You _are_ going to make this last!" Reala cackled, "The last thing I would want is yet another one that can't perform."

"Okay, seriously, the innuendo levels are getting too high here." Ryan groaned, shoving Reala backwards and kicking him in the face, "Enough with this!"

"Ugh…I must say, that surprised me visitor; I guess you have to have some fight in you if you were able to hold onto three of your Ideya." Reala replied, pointing at Ryan's glowing hands, "NiGHTS was telling the truth, your Ideya seems so wonderful. It's a pity you can't fly otherwise this may have turned out badly for me."

"That's what you think." Ryan chuckled, seeing Reala floating in midair and staring at him, "Hey, what gives? I can't fly here?"

"Oh come now Ryan, this is a world of dreams." Dark stated, apparently now enjoying a spot of tea with Jackle, "In this world you don't think, you just do!"

"Amazing, he's figured out dream logic at an alarming rate!" Jackle cackled before quietly sipping his tea, "I think I like you!"

"Thanks Jackle! You seem like an enjoyable fellow yourself!" Dark replied with a grin.

"Ugh…you're supposed to be helping me Jackle." Reala grumbled, not paying attention to Ryan's attempt to bull-shit dream logic, "Huh?"

"Well, damn, it worked!" Ryan laughed, flying towards Reala, "Let's go clown-boy!"

"You and your insufferable cockiness are getting annoying." Reala groaned, slipping into a portal, "Try and follow me now boy."

Seeing the portal disappear, Ryan lost sight of Reala and looked around the room.

'Damn, I can't seem to sense his energy anywhere.' Ryan grunted, unable to tell where the next attack would come from.

"Gotcha!" Reala shouted, appearing from below Ryan and grabbing his ankles, "Let's play!"

"What the hell?" Ryan shouted, trying to avoid being pulled into the portal, "Let go of me you freak!"

"Aren't you going to help your friend?" Jackle asked Dark, who currently was looking over his hand of cards, "And hurry up and choose one of mine to take."

"Huh? Oh my brother will be okay so I'm not worried. I think you should worry more." Dark stated with a grin, "And keep your pants on Jackle…are you even wearing any pants?"

"Hehehehe, now if I told you, where would the fun be in that?" Jackle cackled with a grin, "You'll find out when you need to Darkness."

"Even I think that was a little creepy." Reala groaned, "Anyway, back to you."

Even fighting as best he could, Ryan was still pulled into the portal by Reala.

'This won't be good.' Ryan thought before seeing everything go black.

After a few minutes, Ryan emerged at full force from the portal and hit the ground, slowly getting into a kneeling position.

"Not bad Reala." Ryan groaned, "But it'll take more than that to finish me."

Reala too came flying at full force out of another portal and hit the ground hard.

"Heh, you should be glad I'm even playing with someone your age Visitor." Reala chuckled, "Ugh…I…I won't admit you're stronger."

"I know you won't." Ryan stated, standing up and readying his Keysaber.

"Well, what are you waiting for…?" Reala spat, "You can't leave me with this indignity."

"I suppose." Ryan stated, dashing towards Reala but jumping over him and slashing NiGHTS' cage to pieces, "But there wouldn't be any reason to kill you. Get stronger and maybe we'll go another round when you're ready."

"Damn you…" Reala groaned, falling over from his wounds, "Cocky bastard…"

'How intriguing, a visitor that can defeat Reala on his own?' Jackle thought, looking over the scene with much thought, 'I wonder if he and his brother…maybe.'

"You…you just beat him on your own." NiGHTS stated in shock, "I knew you two were different."

"It was nothing NiGHTS. Reala, was it? He's just a lot of talk." Ryan chuckled, before clutching his side, "Maybe not. I think it's time to go Dark."

"Aw, do we? I was having so much fun with Jackle too!" Dark sighed, "Sorry Jackle."

"It's okay Darkness, we'll see each other again soon enough." Jackle laughed with a curious grin.

"Wait, aren't you even going to try to stop us?" Ryan asked, holding on to NiGHTS for support from his wounds.

"Oh no, you see I don't engage in fights that seem pointless and well, if you can take on and defeat a 1st level like Reala and win then a 2nd level like me just wouldn't stand a chance." Jackle stated with a cackle, "So you can go…we will meet again though, that much you can count on."

A bit confused by Jackle's words but so worn out that they didn't really care, the three of them left Jackle to his thoughts.

'Yes…you'll be back soon enough.' Jackle thought, laying down three cards on the table, 'Especially if this is correct…I must thank Darkness for being my unaware third party in this.'

Noting that he should probably go take care of Reala, Jackle sighed and walked over to him, lifting his body up and making his way to his room.

'God he's heavy…he needs to lay off the small children.' Jackle sighed, before cackling madly.

Dream Gate

"Ugh…okay, I think I'm feeling better." Ryan sighed as he emerged from the NiGHTMaRe door, just before it vanished, "Heh, good riddance."

"You…you made it!" Owl shouted, rushing out from his hiding spot, "NiGHTS!"

"Heh, the old man worried about me." NiGHTS chuckled, "You two really did surprise me."

"Eh, business as usual for us." Dark stated, before fading from sight, "This is annoying…"

"Well NiGHTS, I guess its night over for now." Ryan stated before vanishing, "That was an awful joke."

?

"Master Wizeman." Reala quietly stated, appearing in his chamber.

"Reala." Wizeman boomed, "I told you not to disturb me while I was watching my wrestling. This better be important."

"It's NiGHTS sir, he's…he's gone." Reala quickly stated, lowering his head.

"Gone? How is this possible?" Wizeman shouted, clearly annoyed at Reala's incompetence.

"Those Visitors…Ryan and Darkness proved to be much more than we thought." Reala stated, "They showed abilities that other Visitors haven't shown before."

"Other abilities?" Wizeman questioned, "I will have to study this then; if they are like this I must find a way to counteract them. Their Ideya is giving off a strong power and I desire that power. Leave me!"

"Y-Yes Master Wizeman." Reala stated quickly, making himself scarce.

Outlaw Star

"Ugh…those dreams are getting more and more annoying…darn foreshadowing." Dark grunted, "That Jackle fellow was cool though, I wouldn't mind seeing him again."

Looking to his right, Dark saw something lying on the table.

"Huh? These look like…those cards used when I was playing with Jackle." Dark stated, picking them up in order, "The Emperor, The Magician upside down, and the Tower? Strange…what kind of cards are these?"

Perplexed by the cards but unsure of their meaning, Dark placed the cards somewhere safe and headed to the cockpit.

"And so he rejoins the land of the living." Sora commented, "We've arrived if sleeping beauty cares."

"Oh bite me spike-boy." Dark growled, "So, any clue what we're going to find down there?"

"No clue." Alia replied, "We've been looking through all the files we have and no data seems to be available."

"Okay, so we're going down blind." Ryan sighed, "Why am I not surprised?"

"Oh quit your whining." Reps groaned, "Let's just get down there."

Stepping into the teleporter, the group of four was beamed down to the surface of the familiar looking planet.

Forest Outskirts

"Well, this beats all that water from Trigger's world." Ryan commented, "But I can't help but feel this world is…familiar."

"You're getting that vibe too, eh?" Dark murmured, "It's almost like a feeling I haven't sensed since…let's explore."

Wandering deeper into the forest, the group didn't really find anything of interest and were about to give up until…

"Ryan!" shouted a female voice, before Dark was tackled by a familiar looking, pink hedgehog.

"Ryan? What the hell are you talking about…Amy?" Dark questioned, trying to get back up.

"What? Ryan? And Ryan?" Amy asked, looking at Darkness and then Ryan, "How are you…but…oh this is hurting my brain!"

"Amy!" shouted a familiar gruff voice from the sky, "Ah, there you are…but who have you found?"

"Um…huh? Two Darks?" Reps asked, running around in circles before collapsing, "No…no…that's one too many!"

"Okay, robot boy just blew a fuse." Sora commented, "Maybe you could fill us in on what is going on."

"Hmmm…wait…I recognize you now." The other Ryan stated, landing and turning from what appeared to be Dark to what looked like a gruffer, skinnier Ryan, "You're that version of me from that uh, Dance universe?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that now. You were trying to help out in dimensions by leaping, almost quantumly, and those assholes kept me locked up while you did it." Ryan groaned, "Then this is…I'm so confused."

"Heh, it's okay. I'll explain things on the way back to Knothole." 'Ryan' motioned, leading the other through the forest.

"Are you sure this is okay?" Amy whispered to 'Ryan'.

"Don't worry…I can trust myself can't I?" 'Ryan' replied with a chuckle.

Knothole

"Wait…so you somehow tapped into another version of me or rather this world's version of me?" Dark asked, "And then all this stuff happened and you and Amy and now you can transform into me?"

"Yeah, it sounds crazy I know, but…I don't think I'd change things." 'Ryan' replied with a laugh, looking at Amy, "I feel better and more able to protect the things I care about but…I still have issues controlling my transformed self. This world's Dark mentioned it's most likely because…"

"Hey, no spoilers for the other story yet…that's a plot point discussion you know." Ryan sighed with a huff, "Leave it for your story."

"Oh yeah, that fellow, what's his name, the author? He's been writing that for awhile now hasn't he? I guess I forgot." 'Ryan' chuckled, "Okay, I'll save it for Homecoming then (coming soon to where you can read these fics)."

"Dude, did he just plug another story in this story?" Sora asked Reps, slightly confused.

"When it comes to this type of stuff, it doesn't surprise me." Reps replied with a groan.

"About time you got back…..oh God….two Ryans?" stated a tall, armor-clad figure, "I knew I shouldn't have eaten that chili dog in Sonic's fridge….fresh by date my ass, that must've been super old for me to hallucinate like this."

"Oh, give it a rest Yoshino." 'Ryan' chuckled, "This is just another me who's apparently questing for some mystical creature."

"You don't say? Well, let's hear out this tale then." Yoshino replied, waiting for some explanation that didn't involve food poisoning.

"So if I have this straight, you've run into the embodiments of two ancient Chinese gods and now you're looking for another one here in the hopes of helping him?" Yoshino stated, "That sounds somewhat familiar…Suzaku and Seiryuu….you don't think."

"You don't mean you guys are talking about the Cardinal Gate, are you?" 'Ryan' stated, a stunned look on his face, "But how…that was just a legend…and a part of DistorteD's hook."

"Well, it's real enough." Reps grumbled, "So can you help us or not?"

Before anyone had a chance to respond, a creepy, slow-sounding melody began to creep through the forest, simultaneously putting everyone at ease and on edge.

"Where is that melody coming from?" Dark asked with a shiver, "It's haunting."

"It seems to be coming from the edge of the Great Forest." Sally stated, running towards the group, "I think we should check it…two Ryans? Oh God, not again…"

"For crying out loud, enough of that." Ryan sighed, "I'm Ryan from whatever you want to call it 573, he's from like some low number cause he's closer to Ryan prime."

"Oh yeah, the hack that writes this stuff." 'Ryan' stated back.

"Guys, focus." Yoshino stated, "We need to find the source of this and quick."

Great Forest Outskirts

After some more confusion about who's who, the group made their way towards where the Great Forest and the Badlands neared one another.

"It's getting louder…" Sonic stated, "But what is it? Eggman?"

"No way, we took care of him, remember?" Tails stated, "Though it could be Neo Metal…"

"Nah, I don't think this is his style." 'Ryan' explained, "He'd rather come after me directly after last time, so I…what the hell is that?"

Pointing in the distance, the group could see a large, slow, turtle creature making its way across the badlands, apparently producing the haunting sounds.

"Genbu…" Ryan stated, before a loud explosion caught his attention, "What the hell?"

"You damnable creature…I am your master, so why won't you obey?" came a voice from a familiar, egg-shaped craft.

"EGGMAN!" Sonic and the others shouted.

"He's back…" Yoshino murmured, "I should've known he had something to do with this."

"Wait a minute…you knew?" Sonic questioned, "Was Ryan in on this?"

"Hey…I take offense to that." 'Ryan" stated, "I didn't directly know…I only had my hunches…regardless, Yoshi knew what he was doing. That's not the issue now though…"

"He's right." Dark stated, "We've got to worry about Genbu right now."

"I guess you're right." Tails murmured, "So…we should probably bother Eggman if we want the details."

Chasing after and catching up, the group got their answer from Eggman.

"Okay, I see…so he somehow visited you to see how this world was doing or some such nonsense and he reacted badly to one of your machines…hence the fact he's now mechanized." Reps stated, "That seems a bit fishy to me."

"I swear, on my honor as a maniacal genius that it's the truth." Eggman replied, "Honest!"

"Hmm…for now we have to trust him." 'Ryan' huffed, "So, any idea on how to stop him?"

"I have the plans for a device, but I'd need someone to help me finish this device." Eggman stated, "Your fox friend there has the intellect I require."

"I don't really like how this is going but…I suppose if we have no choice." Tails sighed, "What else do we need?"

"I'd assume a place to assemble it and since we know you wouldn't take us to your lab and you know we'd never take you to Knothole…I guess my lab is safe enough. You're too smart to try anything after last time." 'Ryan' suggested, "Tails, you and Eggman head there and the rest of us will go investigate Genbu."

"Reps, Sora, you two go with them just to keep tabs on things." Ryan whispered to his teammates, "If this Eggman is anything like the others, I don't fully trust him."

"Well, alright, I'll go with your hunch on this one." Sora replied, grabbing Reps' arm and dragging him along, "We'll contact you when they're finished."

With that, the four of them headed towards their work while the others headed towards…

Genbu of the North

"Okay, getting on this thing was the easy part…but…I don't see any way in." 'Ryan' commented, "He looks pretty locked down."

"Grr, we shouldn't have sent Reps away, he could've interfaced with Genbu in some way." Ryan mumbled.

"I should've gotten Nicole off of Sally…she could've been useful too." Sonic mumbled.

"Yeah, but if anything had happened to her your ass would be grass my friend." Yoshino chuckled, "Still, what choices do we have?"

"Oh, wait, I've got just the idea!" Dark shouted, pulling out a memento from Trigger's world, "It's a copy of Model Zeta that he gave me, something about it may come in handy. Gilliam examined it and sure enough, I can merge with it."

Shouting Rock On, Dark fused into Dark Model Zeta and pulled a cable from his helmet, plugging it into Genbu's hardware and scanning for any information.

"Any luck?" Yoshino asked, "Nice transformation by the way."

"Hmmm…I'm trying to keep up with Zeta. He's pretty quick." Dark murmured.

"I think I've found something useful. It's hard to keep up since Genbu's systems lock me out every minute or so." Zeta replied, "It seems that Eggman fellow was telling the truth. Genbu's transformation was an accident."

"Well, I guess that's good to know." 'Ryan' added, "Any idea how to get into Genbu or any other useful information?"

"I don't know I...what the hell?" Dark shouted.

"I'm afraid I can't let you guys do that." Shouted a cloaked figure, suddenly appearing in front of the group, "You've been quite naughty freeing Suzaku and Seiryuu and now trying to rescue Genbu. We can't allow you to continue on like this."

"Organization XIII or is it XXVI now?" Ryan commented, "Which one are you?"

"Oh, I assure you, both of us are here." Stated another figure, this time appearing behind our heroes, "I'm afraid we can't let you continue on. Since those other fools failed in stopping you from reuniting Seiryuu's fragments we have to pick up their slack."

"You do know we won't let you do that, right?" Ryan stated, "Besides, if you're looking for a fight, then I'll certainly bring it."

Laughing, the two figures pulled back their hoods and glared at the heroes.

"Why fight when we can do you one better, eh Xaldin?" stated the figure in front of them.

"My thoughts exactly." Xaldin stated, "Let's scramble their progress a bit, shall we?"

Throwing their hands to their sides, the two of them summoned forth a multitude of spears from out of nowhere and plunged them deep into Genbu's outer armor.

"Ack!" Dark shouted, the explosive feedback from the attack bolting through Zeta and knocking him backwards, "…"

"Oh great, they just took out Dark." Ryan grumbled, "What the hell did you guys do K-Na?"

"So the traitor still knows my name, eh?" K-Na chuckled with amusement, "You'll find out soon enough as we're not hanging around for the fun."

With that Xaldin and K-Na disappeared and left our heroes wondering just what the hell happened.

"We need to get out of here." Dark groaned, clutching his head and slowly getting to his feet, "That feedback was a rewrite command…seems our buddies at in the Organization have been visiting the old MCP."

"MCP?" Yoshino asked, "The hell?"

"We'll fill you in, needless to say Genbu's defenses have been activated and it just released a wave of sentries to ace us." Dark replied, "So let's get the hell out of here!"

"There's the old feeling of impending doom again." 'Ryan' joked, seeing the sentries in the distance, "Okay then, back to my lab as things have just gotten quite complicated."

Making their way off Genbu without any issue, the group headed for a rendezvous with the others.

'How the hell did I know his name?' Ryan wondered, 'I've never seen him before…that dream from before…maybe it's more than that.'

Laboratory

"You two are such kids." Sora groaned over Eggman and Tails' constant bickering, "Maybe you'd be done already."

"We are done you spiky-haired simpleton." Eggman spat out, "I just think it'll be near impossible to actually get this thing where it needs to go."

"Good thing I'm all about doing the impossible." Dark replied, as the group entered into the lab, "So, things have gotten complicated thanks to some unwanted interference."

"The Organization?" Reps questioned, "It figures they'd butt in…so much for this being easy."

"Yeah…they sort of fizzled Genbu's circuitry. It's gone on full defensive mode." 'Ryan' explained, "I'm not sure how…but I think you said you'd explain."

"Ah, yes, of course." Ryan stated with a nod, "Basically…"

One explanation and time wipe later…

"Okay, that makes sense…sort of." Sonic murmured, "At least as much sense as what we deal with anyway."

"Anyway, we need a small strike team if you want to get that thing anywhere near where it needs to go." Eggman grumbled, "So good luck with that thing."

"What do you mean?" Yoshino questioned, "How close do we have to get with that device?"

"Basically, you have to get to its control room…and Genbu is pretty much like a fortress on wheels." Tails elaborated, "So Eggman says it's impossible…you think he'd understand nothing's impossible after we've beaten him so many times."

"Oh, snap! From the most unlikely of sources too." Sonic chuckled, clutching his sides, "Good one little buddy."

"Strike team huh?" 'Ryan' murmured, "I think I know who can help…which is convenient since Genbu seems to be heading that way as it is."

Pulling up an open channel on his arm, 'Ryan' radioed some familiar help over at Station Square.

"Ah, it's been awhile Ryan…keeping busy I bet?" stated Yosh, with just a hint of humor in his voice.

"Really funny, I'm cracking up." 'Ryan' grumbled, "Look, we've got trouble brewing…and it's heading your way."

"Should we put G.U.N. on alert then?" Yosh asked, somewhat more serious than earlier.

"Well, that might not be a good thing but I do want to talk with Duo…we should have some need of his assistance this time." Ryan answered back, "We'll head there now so go ahead and let him know."

"Got it, loud and clear. We'll be expecting you…you're being as vague as usual though…I don't like that." Yosh sighed before signing off.

"He sounded a bit like you." Reps mentioned, pointing at Yoshino.

"Eh, he's supposedly some descendant of mine or something." Yoshino shrugged, "What can I say?"

"That's good and all, but I think we need to let Sal and the others know about this too." Sonic mentioned, "I'm all for cracking heads but we do need to be somewhat cautious…we can't always rely on Ryan's luck after all."

"Oh come on." 'Ryan' scoffed, "That's one of the best parts of it."

Sighing, Dark chuckled at how similar the two Ryan's seemed.

"Figures you'd find amusement in this." Ryan added, jabbing Dark in the side, "Let's direct that energy elsewhere, shall we?"

Station Square Outer Limits: Early Evening

Three figures slowly make their way through the brush and forest that surrounds the mountainous region in which Station Square is hidden, apparently arguing amongst themselves.

"I still say we should've gone left at that river." Red stated, looking at a poorly drawn map.

"And I think we're going the right way." Blue murmured, pointing towards some distance object.

"What I don't get is why you guys are using such ridiculous codenames when those aren't even yours to begin with let alone anything near your real names." The third figure stated.

"Oh hush, Greg. That series we saw gave us this idea, so we thought picking a color as a codename and then picking a silly personality cliché to go with it would be a good thing to mimic." Red stated.

"Whatever, why are we out here anyway? Commander Duo stated to not do anything until the others arrived…which makes me wonder how you managed to drag me out here with you." Greg sighed, "I'm going to get in so much trouble again."

"Oh shut up, we don't need to wait for that psycho human and his furry friends. Things were a lot different with the old commander…we had a lot more fun." Red grumbled.

"Then again Red, the old commander sort of went psycho himself and destroyed himself in a fit of revenge so I suppose we shouldn't be too fond for him." Blue interjected, "The guy nearly wiped out potential allies and then cost the Mayor a bunch of headaches in trying to explain why his military force went AWOL like that."

"I still say I wish the old commander was back, he wouldn't have put up with bullshit like Duo does." Red huffed; unaware their bickering had attracted attention.

"I'm not quite sure you ladies should worry about that." Stated a slightly gruff voice, "It seems you decided to have a tea party even though I didn't say you could."

"I like this guy. He's funny." Dark chuckled, "And where did you guys learn your stealth tactics anyway?"

"Probably the same place those guards from Hyrule did." Ryan replied, "I mean, trained to only see things in front of you? That's brilliant there."

"Ack…C-commander Duo." Red gasped, "Um, you see we…um…were investigating…some…um…"

"Can it. I'll listen to your excuses sometime later; right now we have an issue to resolve." Duo barked out, "So, um…the Ryan from here I guess, what do we need to do to help?"

"Well, we need someone to play decoy while a small strike team infiltrates Genbu and implants this device that'll rewrite the damage done and should allow Genbu to return to normal." 'Ryan' explained, "So in addition to me, Dark, Reps, Metal, and the other me will attempt to infiltrate while you and your "crack" squad assist Yoshino and the others with the diversion tactic."

"That seems easy enough…you really do misuse the term "slight problem"." Duo chuckled, "Well, let's get ready for this thing, it'll be here soon."

100 miles from Station Square: Undisclosed wastelands

"Well, there he is." Yoshino stated, pointing towards Genbu's slow moving form in the distance, "You guys ready?"

"This is crazy." Blue stated, "I mean, that thing is huge and you expect…um…five, six…eight people to divert its attention?"

"Yeah, pretty much." The two Ryans stated at the same time, "Heh…that's funny. Okay, that's enough…stop it!"

"Well, I'm ready to do this." Metal groaned, "I've been out of action too long…let's just hope that other mecha can keep up."  
"Oh, you cocky son of a…I'll show you what I can do." Reps growled, staring hard at Metal.

"Cool it you two." Dark sighed, smacking them upside the head, "Let's get moving and stop this thing…even I'm starting to get annoyed at all the symmetry."

As the five of the strike team got into position, Yoshino pulled out his lance and got Genbu's attention.

"Hey you! Yeah, the slow-moving, green piece of junk! Kick my ass if you can!" Yoshino shouted, before leading the charge as Genbu seemed to be taking the bait.

"Good luck you guys…so, where do we get into this thing?" 'Ryan' asked Metal.

"According to the info Eggman gave me, we can access a hatch on top of him, near the back…it might be locked though, so we'll have to hack into it." Metal explained, "I think this is crazy but hell, I've followed you into worse so let's go!"

With that, the strike force made their way around Genbu, and as expected, the diversion was paying off as Genbu was too busy to even notice the five of them hop up onto its back and find the access panel.

"Okay, I've got this one." Reps stated, placing his hand on the panel and attempting to access the lock, "Oh…well that's disappointing."

Sighing, Reps merely lifted the latch and the door opened.

"The damn thing was unlocked already?" Ryan questioned, "I don't like that…we need to stay aware of our surroundings."

With that, the five heroes entered, pulling the door shut behind them

Genbu: Interior Corridor

"Jeez…I don't know what they're doing out there but it's getting rough in here." Ryan grumbled, "Are we near where we need to be?"

"Um…I think so." Metal murmured, "It should be down this hallway and then to the right."

"I think we're just going in circles…I swear that panel looks familiar." Reps huffed, following along with the others.

"Cut the chatter you two." Dark grumbled, "I sense something up ahead so we must be getting there."

"It's about time you arrived." Stated a synthesized voice.

"Ryan…I recognize that voice." Metal stated, "But how…"

"Yeah, I know…I think I know who that is too." 'Ryan' replied, "What are you doing here though? I thought you were busy training, Neo."

"Heh…well, I knew it was a matter of time before you showed up. This seemed like your type of emergency. The hero to run to the rescue." Neo chuckled, "Though I don't go by that name anymore…My name is Eclipse."

"OVERUSED! I mean: OBJECTION!" Dark shouted, pointing a finger at Neo, "Copyright infringement! That name is already belonging to Ryan's fusion form with our version of Yoshino."

"Really? Ah man! I tried like crazy to think of a good new name…" Neo grumbled, "I guess its back to the drawing board then."

"Well, if it helps, I can help you come up with a name...if you go help our friends outside with their distraction tactics." 'Ryan' said with a light sigh.

"Sure…I guess that's an okay deal." Neo sighed, "So much thinking and time…and then boom, already done."

With a heavy sigh and a slow walk, Neo Metal made his way out of the control room and left the heroes to their devices.

"Well then, let's put that device where it belongs and end this." Metal stated, walking over to the control panel and placing it into the slot.

Ryan and Dark looked at one another and waited…and then nothing happened.

"Expecting something?" 'Ryan' asked, looking at the two staring quietly at one another.

"It just seemed too easy, that's all." Dark replied, "Oh well…I guess that's a nice surprise for once."

Bwaop! Bwaop! Bwaop!

"You just had to open your big mouth Dark." Ryan grumbled, noting the klaxons blaring and red lights flashing around the control room, "What the hell now?"

As if to answer, a bright light began to engulf the control room, followed by our heroes, and then all of Genbu…

?

"Ugh…where the hell are we?" Dark groaned, shoving Reps off of him and standing up, "This place is pretty with all the stars but I'm a little confused."

"Make that two of us." Metal sighed, looking about, "Weren't we on Mobius a few minutes ago?"

"Chosen heroes and virtuous warriors…I thank ye for saving me from my uncontrollable machinations." Stated a rather large, out-of-place tortoise.

"There's something you don't see everyday." Ryan mumbled, "Is this guy for real? I mean…I think its Genbu…he was suppose to be the Wise Tortoise afterall."

"Verily, I am indeed Genbu of the North." Genbu replied.

"Jeez, is this guy for real?" Reps stated.

"Hell no I'm not." Genbu stated with a laugh, "I may be the most knowledgeable of the four of the Cardinal Gate but I'm far from some stick in the mud."

With a deafening silence, followed by a massive wham as the group of heroes hit the ground, Genbu waited for them to collect themselves before continuing.

"I am Genbu, but that whole scholar mood is a total farce." Genbu explained, "No one has ever learned by not doing anything so I get out there and explore. The others always chided me on that but then again I think they're just jealous. I mean, honestly, I'm a giant tortoise whose knowledge about the world is limitless."

"Riiiiiight." Dark stated, trying to maintain composure, "So, you're safe which means we get your symbol, right?"

"Ah, you must be Darkness Shade…I've heard about your exploits before." Genbu chuckled, "You speak the truth. I'm sure my symbol will come in handy along with the others…in fact, I can almost say it will."

"Oh yeah, he was supposed to be able to predict the future and stuff." 'Ryan' quipped, "Don't suppose you'd love to hand out some wonderful wisdom for us, would you?"

"Heh, I suppose cheating wouldn't be all that out of the question, but I warn you, my prophecies aren't straight-forward." Genbu stated, nodding in agreement, "An old one and an old world; those that don't understand the past can never move forward."

"…what the hell was that?" Reps shouted, huffing and puffing, "That makes absolutely no sense."

"Well, he did warn it'd be a little different. Heh…reminds me of that guy from Okami." Dark casually stated, "Anyhow, thanks for the symbol and the prediction Genbu…we'll make sure to find Byakko so you four can get reunited."

"I expect great things from you guys…make sure to kick lots of ass!" Genbu shouted, striking a fighting pose…which is kind of goofy for a giant turtle.

"Um…okay…sure." Metal chuckled into a sigh, "Very strange deity."

With a similar flash of light, our heroes were returned back to Mobius while Genbu sat silently, mulling over things.

"Oh man…those two are going to chew my ass out so bad." Genbu sighed, trying to guess just how much trouble he was going to get in with Suzaku and Seiryuu for goofing around again.

Outlaw Star

"Ugh…that was enough symmetry for one story." Ryan groaned, "I get enough of that doppelganger shit with you around bro, I don't need even more of me running about."

"I hear you; honestly…it's almost as bad as the Sonic franchise right now with all those mismatched misfits coping Sonic's style." Dark replied, before looking at the camera and grinning.

"Oof. That's a low blow even for me." Reps added in, "Anyway, that's three down and one to go…by the way, what do you think happened to those two from the Organization?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, Xaldin and, um, K-Na was it?" Sora asked, "Those two didn't even try to show up and stop us. I totally thought they would inside that mecha-Genbu."

"Maybe something came up? Or maybe Genbu did something?" Dark shrugged, trying to create an answer, "Either way we saved the day and actually didn't have to go through too much hell to get it done either. I'll take that every once and a while."

"I guess." Sora mumbled, "Something just doesn't sit with me on this one."

"Oh well, we'll figure it out later." Ryan added, making a dismissing motion with his arm, "We've got bigger fish to fry for now."

"Quite. If you "girls" are finished talking, Alia and I have pinpointed the next place on the map." Gilliam interjected.

"What did you say?" Ryan asked in disbelief, his face contorting to that of shock, "I think someone needs a reprogramming…"

"Hey…stay out of there." Gilliam shouted as Ryan ran to the main computer room.

"Admit it Alia, you put him up to that?" Dark suggested, gently nudging her in the side.

"Me? Oh, I wouldn't do that Darkness; you should know better than to suggest that." Alia replied with a straight face while plotting a course.

'Strange people I've gotten hooked up with.' Sora thought to himself, looking over the plotted course, 'Wait…I know this quadrant of space…it's from my reality.'

Zooming in on the intended target, Sora knew of this world…

"Heh, guess I know what Genbu's prophecy meant…this ought to be a blast with these guys around." Sora quipped, sporting a grin and sitting back in his seat, catching up on his sleep as the ship sped off towards its destination…


	12. Kachoufuusetsu

**DDR HEARTS 2: Decision – Kachoufuusetsu**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

Outlaw Star

As the ship slowly made its way towards what would be the final destination in this search for ancient gods, Darkness Shade held three cards in his hand, looking over them and wondering just what would come of them.

"That Jackle fellow…he used me to decide on these three cards, I'm positive about it now." Dark muttered to himself, "The thing is…was he trying to predict my future…or someone else's?"

A call from the control room shook Dark from his thoughts and, after putting the cards away, he made his way there.

"Wait, so we're actually hitting up one of your worlds now?" Ryan quizzed Sora, noting their final location coming up.

"Yep…I wonder if you guys can handle it." Sora stated with a grin.

"Hey, why does this planet look familiar?" Reps asked, staring out the front view screen, "Wait…is that…?"

"We're going to DISNEY LAND!" Dark shouted, "I can't wait to ride Big Thunder and then play some Disney RAVE and then…and then…CHURROS!"

"Dark, this isn't this Disneyland that you speak of." Alia interrupted, bringing him back to reality, "It's apparently Disney Castle and a key icon of Sora's reality."

"Right, the King lives there." Sora replied with a nod, "As does the Queen and everyone else."

"Mickey lives in a wacky Disney style castle, huh?" Ryan questioned, "Lovely, lovely, lovely…I can't wait to see how Squenix screws up this story when I sell it to them this time."

Disney Castle: Throne Room

"So, there's no Rescue Rangers?" Dark asked a very confused Chip and Dale, "Drat."

"Okay, that's enough of that you girl obsessed goof." Ryan sighed, smacking Dark on the head, "So, as your were saying Sora, the Queen should be here?"

"Yeah, she should be here but…she seems to be missing…something doesn't seem right." Sora replied, noting the quiet that was surrounding them.

"Perhaps I can help with that issue." Stated Merlin, appearing in front of them, "There's been some foul magic afoot and I fear it may be linked to that door I opened for Sora some time ago."

"A door?" Reps questioned, "What kind of door?"

"Perhaps it's best if I just show you." Merlin replied, heading towards a pair of stairs hidden by the thrones, "This should be the quickest way."

"I see then, the door to the past is giving off some type of aura." Sora stated, "It's kind of odd…almost like…it's directing to somewhere else now."

"I haven't been able to figure out where it leads now exactly, but it might not be the same as the last time you used it." Merlin warned, "Be careful…since I know you're going to run gung-ho into it as usual."

"Heh, how else would we play it?" Dark quipped, pushing open the door and stepping inside, "…it's so beautiful…should've sent…a poet."

"Okay you over actor, get moving." Reps grumbled, shoving him through, followed by Ryan and Sora before the door swung shut behind them.

Timeless River?

"Well, it's black and white like the Timeless River…but something seems amiss." Sora deduced, "Yet, I can't put my finger on it."

"…" Ryan sighed, "We've gone retro."

"Sweet…if this is like old-timey cartoons then I can do rubber-hose!" Dark shouted, flailing his arms out to the left and right, "This is awesome."

"Dear God, I'm made of wood." Reps grumbled, "Has anyone seen my head…it seems to have disappeared."

"That's what happens when you go to pieces the entire time dude." Sora chuckled, helping reassemble Reps, "I think it went through that door over there."

Walking over to it, Sora and Reps went through before it slammed shut and disappeared, leaving Ryan and Dark alone.

"Great…I'm stuck with the world's most non-threatening looking half-demon while a wood robot and big-shoe boy have gone to who knows where." Ryan grumbled, "Being the straight man sucks…"

Monochrome Middleton

"I still don't feel like this place is right…" Sora mumbled, leading Reps around on a quest for his head, "I have this strange feeling about this place."

"I'm sure you're just on edge being back in the past." Reps stated, "Now help me find my head, do you have any idea how hard it is to talk without it?"

Meanwhile, a strange looking man with a very long mane of white hair was approaching down the path, somewhat stumbling his way along.

"Hey, maybe that guy saw your head, let's ask him." Sora stated, going up to the man, "Excuse me sir, have you seen a head-shaped block of wood about this big, has hexagons for eyes and looks rather stupid?"

"What lies are you saying about me?" Reps grumbled, flailing his arms around.

"Heh…your friend is quite energetic." The man replied with a grin, "That strange wall seemed to take it away…by the way, you wouldn't happen to have anything to help heal a hangover would you?"

"A hangover, oh, I take it you had a busy night am I right?" Reps chuckled, nudging the stranger, "Um, I might have something…let me dig through my chest cavity."

Tossing out, rearranging, and pulling out all sorts of odd, useful, and somewhat questionable items, Reps finally managed to produce a type of medicinal item he'd acquired some time ago.

"Ryan doesn't really drink much, but when he does he tends to overestimate himself so I always carry some of this with me." Reps replied, "I don't see why you can't have some."

"Heh…thanks lads…I hope you find your head." The man stated, before disappearing from sight.

"Did he just…vanish?" Sora asked, puzzled as to what just happened.

"How would I know, I can't see a fucking thing with my head gone you idiot!" Reps shouted, "Now quit stalling…he showed you where my head went so start leading us."

Meanwhile, from a distance, the man could do naught but chuckle, making some comment about the blind leading the blind.

"Still…they are kind lads…maybe they can finally help me out…speaking of which…I think it's time to see how those other two fellows are doing."

Model Town?

"This place looks rather…odd…why would there be a miniature village in the middle of nowhere like this?" Ryan asked, noting they'd gotten quite lost.

"I don't think it's random…huh, a tiny sign." Dark stated, bending down and picking it up, "It says, 'Welcome to Lilliput! Please don't step on us!' Huh…wasn't that the town in that one story?"

"I think so…and since Mickey had that one, old cartoon where he ended up there then I guess it makes sense it's here in the past." Ryan agreed with a sigh, "So…how do we go through then without stepping on anything?"

"Wait, if I remember right, didn't they have some kind of problem with a giant spider or something?"

"Oh Dark, that's ridiculous…" Ryan replied, before noting a huge swirl of darkness explode from the sea and turn into a giant heartless that looked just like…a…big…spider.

"Well shit…"

"Well, don't just stand there; we've got to protect the little guys!" Dark shouted, attempting to make it over to the spider to intervene, which was rather hard given the city was between him and it.

"Oh man, I hope no one was in that car." Ryan sighed; finally catching up to Dark and giving him a hand beating back the spider terrorizing the village, "Spiders…it had to be spiders."

While holding their own, the two heroes just couldn't seem to land a finishing blow, and were currently panting and heaving while trying to figure out some type of plan until...

"Mind if we step in?"

"Eh, that was too easy…you guys beat it up too much."

With that, two cloaked figures showed up, that being the fiery duo of Axel and Tekka looking at the two of them surprised.

"Really, a giant spider Keydan?" Tekka scoffed, "Although, you did wear it down so I guess it was pretty tough."

"Hey, where'd Roxas get to?" Axel asked, not seeing his friend, "He's with that strange raccoon dog, isn't he?"

"I'm NOT A RACOON!" Reps shouted from far away.

"Still at that, eh?" Dark sighed, "Look…Keydan can't come back…you should know this by now…he's a part of us and we need him as much as he needs us….just like Sora with Roxas."

"Maybe they're right…" Tekka huffed, pondering on this for a moment, "Axel, any thoughts?"

"…I want my buddy back…but...I think bigger things are at work here…we can't go back now anyway." Axel commented, looking lost in his thoughts, "I'm not sure we even should've helped with the Organization hunting us like crazy."

"Is that why you're hiding here in the past?" Ryan asked, finally recovering from the fight, "Maybe that's why things are getting messed up again…"

"We're screwing things up?" Tekka asked, concern ringing in his voice, "Maybe we should find somewhere else then…"

"You could always come with us…I know Sora doesn't like the Organization that much but, well, he doesn't have much of a vote in the matter." Dark joked, flashing his winning grin.

"Nah…you guys fight way different…that's Keydan's fault I guess." Tekka stated, "Besides, we need to keep them distracted so you can do what you need to do, right Axel?"

"Right…so…tell Rox…I mean, Sora I said hi and I'll see him later." Axel stated, disappearing in a puff of flames.

"Ryan…Dark…I'll see you guys later." Tekka stated, "And be careful…that Cardinal Gate is not what you might think from what we've found out…"

With that, Ryan and Dark were left alone, naught but the Lilliputians as company.

"Well, at least the little guys are safe." Dark finally stated, breaking the silence, "We should definitely find…huh, what's up?"

Noting they were tugging on his pant leg, Dark, with Ryan in tow, followed them to a tiger that was apparently in a right state.

"Hey, what's wrong with him?" Ryan asked, walking closer to him and noting his paw was injured, "Um…could I see your paw big guy?"

The tiger took a hard look at Ryan before eventually showing him his paw which had somehow gotten one of the Lilliputians cannons lodged in it.

"Huh, that looks painful, let's try getting that out." Ryan stated, grabbing and yanking the cannon out, to which the tiger roared but soon calmed after noting he could use his paw again.

"Now, be careful dude, from what I can tell these guys depend on you for protection, so don't go getting injured." Ryan warned, before turning to the Lilliputians and chiding them for being so messy and leaving stuff lying around that could get stepped on.

"Ryan, I think I've found the other two, so let's make tracks." Dark interjected, pointing towards a distortion in the west.

With a nod and farewell to their newfound friends, Ryan and Dark made their way to wall…as the tiger assumed a familiar form of a man and smiled a bit, chuckling to himself.

Pixelated Wall

"I'm not sure how to go about this." Reps sighed, "The readings for this are a bit off the charts."

"But we know you're heads on the other side if that old dude was right." Sora added, "If those other knuckle-heads were here we'd figured something out faster."

As if on cue, Ryan and Dark appeared on the horizon and came to a stop nearby the two, making their way over to the wall.

"Well, that seems kind of troublesome…why haven't you just jumped in yet?" Dark asked, slightly boggled by the stopping and inaction.

"You get all that power and you go super cocky…you were bad enough before but damn." Reps sighed…till his head appeared and taunted them before heading back through the wall.

"Well, there's your head, let's go get it!" Dark shouted, diving through the wall and disappearing from view.

"Well, I can't leave him alone, who knows what he'll find over there…and try to seduce." Ryan sighed, following after him.

"Well, we'd better go too!" Sora shouted, grabbing Reps and shoving him in before following, "Whoa, this feels funky…"

8 Glorious Bits

"Great monochrome palettes of Gunpei!"

"Okay…everyone else sees this too, right?"

"You mean how we're 8-bit?"

"Well, not so much that as how everything is…well…"

"Green?"

"Yeah, that…it's um, it's definitely different."

"Sweet squares of Mother Russia, its GB Land!"

"Alright, alright, now that everyone has had a chance to sound off and confuse the readers, let's find my head!" Reps shouted…somehow…and soon enough they found his head just bouncing around, doing little else.

"Reps Get Equipped with Head Power!" Reps shouted, reattaching his head as a familiar Capcom sound byte played.

"That sounded inappropriate but I can't argue with the retro tune." Ryan commented, so…now what do we do?"

"Hey, I don't think we're alone." Dark suddenly stated, "I hear someone else nearby."

Sure enough, a man in a cloak was running by and upon seeing them began to run faster.

"Hey, it's an organization member! After him!" Sora shouted, beginning the chase through this green wonderland.

After dodging various hazards of the Game Boy era, the group of heroes was rather lost and could not seem to find signs of anyone besides them.

"I don't get it, how did he just disappear?" Ryan shrugged, "It's not like he could just disappear."

When the group had felt they'd lost the trail, a loud roar shot through the air and dragged their attention towards the north, where the strange tiger from before was waiting…with a cloaked figure.

"It's that tiger again." Dark mumbled, "How'd he get here?"

"Oh that bit is easy." the tiger said, "Right Yoshino?"

"Exactly my friend…I'm disappointed they haven't caught on yet."

"Wait, Yosh? What are you doing here?" Reps asked, rather confused, but maintaining his head this time.

"Easy, this is Byakko…he said you were having some trouble, so I showed up to help out."

"Wait…Byakko…then you're the last one…you were stuck in the past?" Dark asked, hoping they'd finally found the last piece.

Turning into his human form, Byakko was glad he could finally reveal himself.

"I must say, you boys sure did take your time getting here." Byakko sighed, "I was getting rather bored with all this…but I think you passed well enough."

"Still…why are _you_ here Yoshino?" Sora asked, "I don't buy any of this…"

"Well, you see…the thing is…the thing is…the thing is…the thing is…"

Suddenly, as if tauntingly, the whole area began to spaz out and refuse to fix itself as the screen pulled out to show…

The Outlaw Star

"Ah man, it always does it at that point…and I didn't save either." Reps sighed, looking at the old relic they'd acquired along their travels.

"Did it to you again, eh?" Dark asked, "Well, try blowing on the cart. That almost always works…"

"That's an idea." Reps stated, taking out the cartridge and blowing, before reinserting it and turning the power on…

The Outlaw Star

As the ship slowly made its way towards what would be the final destination in this search for ancient gods, Darkness Shade held three cards in his hand, looking over them and wondering just what would come of them.

"That Jackle fellow…he used me to decide on these three cards, I'm positive about it now." Dark muttered to himself, "The thing is…wait a minute…I've been through this before…what the deuce is going on?"

Looking around, Dark began to be aware that things weren't as they should be, and suddenly looked straight out of the screen towards the Reps playing.

"Hey you, out there…this game is just going to infinite loop unless you free Byakko!"

Reps looked a bit startled being talked to by a game but the name Byakko made him focus and pay attention to the 8-bit monochrome Dark.

"This game…it was used to trap Byakko…that's why it always freezes and keeps him from being truly saved. You've got to destroy this cartridge and free him!"

"Are you sure…won't that kill you as well?"

"Heh, we're just pulled from you guys so it'll just be like going back home, so don't worry…we won't die that easy."

"That sounds like Dark to me…okay, here goes nothing then!"

Removing the game from the system and grabbing it between his hands, Reps took a deep breath before snapping the cartridge in two and a blinding flash filled the cockpit, as the rest of the crew had but a moment before they were consumed by it.

Altered Space

"Heroes…you've finally come to my rescue." Byakko stated, as the four of them tried to regain their bearings.

"So it was true…how'd you get trapped in that thing?" Ryan pondered, hoping for a reasonable answer.

"Well, I get bored often and while out I just started playing this strange game, then next thing I know, I'm stuck in an infinite loop of 8-bit."

"Seriously?" Reps sighed, "Why is it that both male gods are such slackers!"

"Easy there son, you'll blow a gasket." Byakko joked, "Anyway, you've freed me and I'm sure Suzaku and Seiryuu are going to chew me out something fierce…but I did just wander off…some symbol of clairvoyance I turned out to be. At least my sense of righteousness guided the heroes to me in the end. Anyway, here is my symbol, make good use of it and protect the center…Kinjinshi must not fall to evil."

"Don't worry, we won't let the Organization have their way, and we'll set everything right." Sora replied, accepting the final symbol from Byakko.

"So long heroes…may the Cardinal Gate watch and guide you."

Outlaw Star

"Who the hell is Kinjinshi?" Reps questioned, after noting they were back on their ship, "I thought this thing was over at four…"

"Remember that first one we got from Yoshino?" Ryan reminded as he pulled out the original badge they'd received, "Kinjinshi is the center of that gate Yosh found…so we already have all five badges."

"So then we just have to put them there and then everything will finally be over?" Sora asked, "Reality will fix itself, we'll be back to our own continuities and we can all move on?"

"That seems to be the long and short of it." Dark replied with a nod, "Soon it'll be as if this never happened…"

'I wonder…' Ryan thought, staring out into space as Gilliam adjusted course their course for…

Hollow Bastion

"This doesn't look too good." Yoshino sighed, fighting back more heartless and clearing the area…for now, "They sure like taking their time."

"Heh, you know how they can be." Mickey replied, trying to reassure his friend, "Knowing them, they just finished up right now and are heading back."

"That would be their style…I wish things weren't so wonky with the security systems though…I wonder if Tron's in trouble?" Leon added, before getting signal from Cid, "Hey guys, it seems that the Gate is acting up…I wonder if that means they've got all five badges now?"

"I don't know, but we'd better go check out the gate; if the Organization gets their hands on it then I don't know what could happen…" Yoshino murmured as Mickey and Leon headed out, leaving him behind for the moment.

'The thing is, even I don't know what'll happen…mythology says that the badges prove worth of something…but what does that worth mean? And will it make things worse than they are? Ryan, Dark…I hope you guys are ready for anything.'

With that, Yoshino took off to catch up as all the players made their preparations for the final act in this saga…


	13. Nageki no Ki

**DDR HEARTS 2: Decision – Nageki no Ki**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

**Outlaw Star**

"Well, we've almost arrived…you might want to get prepared." Gilliam warned, as their ship was soon approaching Hollow Bastion.

"Guys, I'm picking up some dangerous signals coming from the planet…it's almost like the world is being overtaken by darkness again." Alia informed, "Please be cautious…it seems as if everything is going haywire down there. Perhaps checking in with Tron would be a good idea."

"That sounds like a plan then cutie." Dark replied, giving a wink, "All right guys, let's get down and there and do what we do best!"  
"Wet our pants?" Reps asked.

"Run in circles?" Sora asked.

"Get some Burger King?" Ryan added.

"…no, just, no…" Dark sighed as the four of them teleported to the surface.

**Hollow Bastion: Townways**

"Okay, what the hell happened to this place?" Dark commented, seeing everything just completely fubared, "Jeez…Yosh has been slacking big time."

"You don't think Tron's been having some issues, do you?" Sora asked, his voice showing concern for their digital friend.

"I bet him and Haseo have their hands full with the MCP and Cubia…we have been gone a while." Reps added, "We should check in at Merlin's place and then head to the computer room as soon as possible."

With a nod and a mutual agreement, the group of heroes took off, heading towards Merlin's place.

Stopping at Merlin's place and being informed that something did seem to be up with the computer system, the heroes left the 5 badges they'd acquired with Yoshino and headed off to meet Leon and hopefully find out what the deuce was going on.

"Hmm, he's not here." Ryan murmured, seeing the control room empty.

"Yosh was acting rather vacant as well." Dark growled, "Probably from fixing the problems around town."

"Maybe we should check on Tron and Haseo." Sora offered, "If anyone knows what's going down with the town's systems, it'd be those two."

"Well, an actual good idea from the spiked clown." Reps chuckled, "Who'd have thought?"

After some playful banter and some tinkering around, the four heroes digitized themselves as they re-entered…

**Space Paranoids: Delta Server: Internal Disc Drive Mac Anu**

"It's quiet…too quiet." Ryan groaned, seeing everything going as it should, "I think our friends are busy somewhere."

"We'd best find them then." Reps agreed as the group took off, looking around the town for the others.

"Has anyone else noticed how weird everything looks now?" Sora asked, noting the surroundings had changed.

"I think Spiky is right…look at his suit and look at the town." Dark replied, "They've changed somewhat…but what does that mean?"

"I don't know, but I bet we don't want to find out from that thing!" Reps shouted, pointing at an incoming Recognizer, "RUN!"

Our heroes quickly began to try and escape from their pursuers but with all the changes in the city, they had a lot of trouble gaining any ground and eventually they were trapped.

"Can't you do something crazy like last time?" Dark stated, "Another program or something?"

"Tron helped out with that one, I'm not familiar with what this system runs on." Ryan grumbled, "Well, I bet we'll at least find out what's going on around here."

With that, the Recognizer landed and the group was shuffled on board by the guards; with that, the Recognizer took off for somewhere that wasn't easily recognizable at first.

"This looks like the Game Grid…but…what did they do to it?" Dark questioned, seeing the changes, "And what's with the crowd of programs?"

"This does not look good…I think we have to fight." Sora noted, seeing other programs ready for battle, "Good thing we're users."

"Yep…time to cheat!" Ryan stated, taking out his opponent easily before knocking back another's identity disc, causing the crowd to ooh and ahh in delight, "That all they've got…this fancier place is weak."

Suddenly, with the four of them left, the crowd began to chant a name loudly over and over again.

"What are they saying?" Reps stated, trying to make out the word, "It sounds like a name…Rinzler?"

"What the hell's a Rinzler?" Dark asked, before seeing an orange striped suited combatant jump-flip his way down to the playing field, "Ah, you must be a Rinzler…hmmm…."  
"You feel it too, don't you?" Ryan asked, looking at Rinzler's outfit, "He seems familiar…"

Before the four of them could get a chance to discuss it further, Rinzler went on the offensive…and sent the four of them scattering.

"Well then, this one seems to be a challenge…" Ryan mused, having to think and dodge, "Hmmm…"

Even with the four of them fighting, this Rinzler dude just couldn't be touched and our heroes were starting to get worn down.

"I bet Sark is just laughing his ass off right about now…the little bastard." Sora groaned, "I guess the MCP really fubared everything royally."

"I want to know where Tron and Haseo are though…they've got to be here somewhere." Dark grumbled, "Slackers are late."

With that, it seemed as if our heroes weren't going to be able to do much until…

A rather large vehicle came crashing through the walls and landing on their battle platform, knocking Rinzler out of the way and coming to a stop.

"Get in you idiots!" Haseo shouted from the car, signaling for them to get moving, "We've not got a lot of time!"

Not one to look a quick getaway in the backseat, the four heroes piled in as best they could and held on tight as the driver got them out of there.

"Who's the chick?" Dark asked, as they weaved around the course avoiding the guards that had swarmed.

"My name is Quorra." She explained, "And I must say I'm rather excited that I get to meet you as well; I've heard quite a lot from your friend Haseo."

"And Tron…what about Tron?" Sora asked, not seeing him around here.

"Well…that's a long story. I'll explain things when we're safe." Haseo said, "Needless to say, things have gotten really f'ed up around here since you left."

"Okay, but you're buddy is missing too…he okay?" Reps asked, "He seemed pretty attached to you."

"Oh yeah…I remember that bit you little bastard…" Haseo grumbled, "He's back at the base doing his best to figure out what happened to the system."

"Well then, I'll leave the driving to the cutie, I'm taking a nap." Dark sighed, closing his eyes and resting as they made their way towards Quorra's safe house.

**Off the Grid: Quorra's Place**

"We're here sleepy head, so get off me!" Ryan shouted, shoving Dark awake and getting out of the car, "Nifty ride there Quorra, much roomier than a Light Cycle."

"Heh, we do what we can." Quorra quipped, "Feel free to get settled everyone, we'll explain what happened once you can rest a bit."

With that, the crew crashed a bit, trying to wrap their head around the changes that had happened to the digital landscape.

"Is someone cooking something?" Dark suddenly asked, his sniffer catching wind of food smells, "Huh, didn't know food existed here."

"Oh, it's just me." Reps replied, boiling a pot of something, "I'm pretty hungry."

"Um…dude…are you boiling motor oil?" Ryan asked, eyeing his pot oddly, "I don't think you cook with that."

"Um…hello, machine?" Reps sighed, rolling his eyes, "I swear…a guy can't make some Soba Noodles around here without being judged."

"Oy, don't get him all riled up again." Sora sighed, "So, Haseo…what the hell did happen to the Grid…and Tron?"

"After you morons left and took off to who knows where, things were quiet." Haseo began to explain, his face becoming rather gloomy (well, gloomier than usual for him), "Seems the MCP was busy…he found a hidden version of that Encom system that was an upgraded format."

"Ah, so that's why everything looks off." Ryan mused, "What happened with Tron though?"

"Well, that Rinzler dude was part of the newer system functions…Tron tried to fight him off when we got ambushed…I tried to help but I just didn't have the strength then." Haseo lamented, "Quorra helped upgrade me to this new Xth Form, but that didn't help him back then."

"So is he…?"

"Well, he held them off and let me escape…I wandered the digital wasteland area till I ran into Quorra." Haseo continued, "She brought me here and up to speed about those changes. She's had Azure Kite running some sub-routines to help find our best plan of attack."

"Well, with us here we should be able to do pretty well." Dark added, striking a pose, "They'll be derezzed before they know it!"

"Heh, you users never cease to amaze me." Quorra chuckled, "Well, we've deduced the best place to approach and attack; only the Game Grid and surrounding area have been upgraded so our path to the MCP and your way out is pretty straight-forward."

"Then what are we waiting for!" Reps stated, slurping the rest of his noodles, "Let's go kick some ass!"

"Geez, give a guy some noodles and suddenly he's ready to be serious." Sora joked, drawing a laugh from everyone but Haseo.

"Ugh, anything to be rid of you idiots…" Haseo sighed, cracking a slight smile as the group prepared for their journey.

**Space Paranoids: Sigma Server: Unfortunate Troubling Simulation Hangar**

"That thing is going to take us to the MCP?" Ryan quipped, "Dear Lord, I feel like if I breathe on it it'll break."

"It may be old, but it's reliable." Quorra retorted, "Besides, this was the only place unguarded at the moment; Sark's got all of the MCP's little lackeys busy converting to the new system."

"Which means he will be free for the fighting. Perfect." Reps chuckled, "Time for some generic revenge!"

"You scare me sometimes dude." Dark commented, eyeing Reps carefully, "You've got this whole revenge bloodlust thing going on…and that's not healthy."

"VENGANCE SHALL BE MINE!" Reps shouted, before coughing and composing himself, "I mean we shall right the wrongs that shouldn't be! Yes…all that noble stuff."

"If you're quite done being stupid, we need to get moving." Haseo grumbled, impatiently tapping his foot.

With that, the motley crew of heroes boarded the Simulation and began their trek towards the MCP and hopefully to the solution to their problems…unaware the Rinzler was a few steps behind them.

"…Sora…"

"Not that I'm complaining but its way too quiet." Sora sighed, "I almost can't help but think we're going into a trap."

"Well, if he knows we're back, which I'm sure he does, then he's most likely sure we'll come for him." Ryan deduced, to which Dark added, "Which means we at least don't have to worry about being sneaky."

"What's the real world like anyway?" Quorra asked as she attempted a segue, "I've often wanted to know what a sunrise is like to be honest…I can't really picture it."

"Well, it's…hmm…I'd say warm." Sora stated.

"Hopeful would be a good word too." Reps added, "Not that, you know, I ever have a lot of that hanging with these overwound heroes."

"Hey!"

"Oh shush, he's one of us too, so he kind of made fun of himself." Dark laughed, "It's comforting though…the real world is cool but it's got its problems too."

"I'd like to visit it someday…" Quorra trailed off, "Maybe after we take care of the MCP…looks like we're almost there."

In the coming distant our heroes saw a large tower jutting from the ground, red lines of light going in every direction from the top of it and traveling down the Grid.

"So, who's ready to show them what a user can do?"

**Space Paranoids: Sigma Server: Troubling Recursive Control**

"So this is where the big, bad MPC hides out huh?" Dark quipped, "Not a very happening place…there isn't even a disco ball for crying out loud! No wonder he's so cranky, I bet he doesn't get any ladies with this set-up."

"Um, I'm pretty sure he's not really concerned about girls." Sora added, sighing in the process, "I'd wager that rather large gaping red void is the entrance to his domain."

"Well then, let's go take care of this asshole." Haseo stated, "For Tron…"

"You know, I just remembered, what became of that Cubia fellow?" Ryan asked, looking over at Haseo for answers, "You didn't mention him…"

"It's odd…like he just…vanished. Kite couldn't find him anywhere…though he didn't come with us so I assume he has his own lead to track him down." Haseo explained, "Crazy damn programs…no offense Quorra."

"None taken Haseo that Kite fellow is definitely a strange program even by my standards…he also seems to like you far too much." Quorra chuckled, "It's actually cute in a way."

"There is nothing cute about his stalker, obsessing over me ways!" Haseo fumed, stamping his feet and waving his arm, "Jeez…you must be one of those fangirls."

"What's a fangirl?"

"Nevermind…let's get this over with, you guys are giving me a headache." Haseo sighed, walking towards the red void and entering, the others close behind.

Meanwhile, Rinzler was slowly catching up to them, pausing only to examine the Simulation before noting where he was.

"Here…hmmm…" he growled before disappearing.

"Okay, I can't be the only one that thought there would have been more in our way that just a door, right?" Ryan commented, noting that this place was way too quiet.

"Maybe lucks on our side." Quorra replied, "It would seem you'd be in need of a moment like that."

"You don't know the half of it." Dark growled, "Reps get that sucker open would ya?"

"Leave it to me! I'll get the revenge started in style!" Reps shouted, interfacing with the door and making the oddest of facial expressions.

"Is he okay?" Haseo asked, "Not that I care or anything but he looks really stupid doing that…"

"Oh, it's his "thinking" phase as he puts it." Sora groaned, "He's done that before when trying to overtake some electronic device so I wouldn't worry too much."

"And behind door number two…" Reps stated, snapping out of his trance and opening the door to reveal…

"Bup-ba-ba-bah! Nick JR!" the MCP declared loudly as our intrepid heroes entered…only to facefault in tandem.

"You know…that seemed awfully familiar." Dark stated, pulling himself up from the ground.

"Oh, I don't know, because it's another needless reference to our childhood!" Ryan groaned while Haseo, well, Haseo looked like Haseo.

"…WHAT THE FUCK IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE?" Haseo shouted, nearly having a coronary, "Why must everything be so messed up with all of you! I mean, why can't it be like the simple days where I just mercilessly slaughtered things and that was how you heored!"

"I'm so very confused by all of this…" Quorra interjected, "What is a Nick Jr.? And why does it make Mr. Haseo so angry?"

"Well, it's like this…" Reps explained to her as the others stared at what was supposed to be their big boss.

"Hmmm, I'd reckon that Cubia fellow must have infected him." Ryan deduced, "Haseo, your thoughts?"

"I think you can all go to hell…" Haseo groaned, "But this seems like his handy work to me…it would explain where he's been."

As Dark went to assume the position to kick some ass, he was tackled from behind and sucker punched by Rinzler who immediately went on the offensive to take down our heroes.

"You sniping bastard." Dark growled, getting back up and charging at him, "Let's see you do that again!"

As the others did their best to fight them, Ryan couldn't help but notice something familiar about this Rinzler fellows fighting style.

'I couldn't focus on it last time with how tight things were but…he seems really familiar.' Ryan thought, barely dodging an attack and passing close to him, 'Wait…his suit…that dotted pattern…Oh God!'

"TRON!" Ryan shouted, pointing at Rinzler with his Keysaber, "What happened to you? I thought you fought for the user!"

Rinzler merely growled as if fighting some internal struggle before hissing at Ryan.

"Heh, you won't break my new toy that easy." Stated a shadowy figure appearing from within the MCP, "It was fun twisting him and much more challenging than this older program."

"Cubia…" Haseo growled, "I was wondering when you would show up…"

"It's good to see you again Haseo…oh, by the way, I have something that belongs to you." Cubia stated, tossing a familiar looking weapon at his feet, "Heh, he just couldn't keep up I'm afraid…no surprise though given who he was based upon afterall…"

"You bastard!" Haseo seethed, grabbing his twin pistols and making to charge Cubia, "I'm going to end you right now!"

"As if you had any kind of chance…Rinzler, take them down!" Cubia commanded, while fading into the MPC, "I have systems to conquer and no time for peons."

Rinzler merely nodded and charged at Haseo, knocking him around before throwing him into a wall, his twin pistols sliding across the floor and over the platforms edge.

"Bastard…" Haseo groaned, unable to move and helpless to stop his approach, "Good thing you've got a one track mind…"

"My thoughts exactly." Ryan shouted, having snuck up and grabbed Rinzler from behind, "Come on Tron, snap out of this funk Cubia put you in dude!"

Rinzler shook and twisted trying to break free of Ryan's grasp but he wasn't having any of that as Ryan held on tight.

"There's got to be something we can do to free his mind." Dark growled, unsure of what to do, "Where's a plot device when you need one?"

"Dammit…he's too strong!" Ryan shouted, slowly losing his grip, "We're your friends Tron…come on!"

Rinzler growled before finally shaking Ryan free and tossing him aside, with his discs in hand he stood poised to take him out.

"Data…Drain…"

A brilliant flash of light shone forth and pierced Rinzler, sending his makeup into frenzy as bits of data were unscrambled and rearranged.

"Wait…only one person I know could have done that attack." Haseo gasped in surprise, "Kite…"

"Aaaaaaaagh…" Kite hissed as he slowly floated down, missing an arm but okay otherwise.

"Oh great, this guy again." Reps sighed, "He says he needed Cubia to think he was out of the way to get him to re-enter the MCP."

"And Tron?" Ryan asked, standing up and looking over what appeared to once again be their friend.

"Aaaaah, heeeeeee…." Kite explained, pointing at Tron.

"He says he'll be okay after he reboots; also thanks for giving him a clear shot since he didn't want to miss…apparently he was only going to get one chance with that…Data Drain attack." Reps translated, "Anyway, Cubia apparently is going to use the MCP's controls to try and hijack not only Hallow Bastion but to spread to other worlds."

"That's not something we want is it?" Sora asked, before turning to look at the MCP, "Isn't Cubia part of that thing now…so wouldn't he be seeing all this?"

"Cubia is tricky but kind of dumb." Haseo explained, finally gathering the strength to pull himself out of the wall, "He has a one-track mind so he won't even be monitoring us."

"So we've got the element of surprise on our hands…excellent." Dark replied with a grin, "Kite, since you don't seem to be in a state to fight now, will you watch Tron for us?"

Kite merely nodded and hovered over to Tron while the others took off, diving head first into the MCP to take on Cubia and end this.

"So, should we be taking this long to fall?" Ryan asked, concerned that they hadn't hit bottom yet.

"We should be there soon." Quorra stated, "He'll be at the core and that's your way out."

"Really? Wouldn't it be how we came in?" Dark asked, "Also, you were pretty quiet earlier, you okay?"

"I must admit that was a lot to take in…users tend to be complicated but I never expected that much." Quorra answered, "I was a bit stunned…at least till you guys ran headfirst into the MCP."

"Well, when you hang with these two, that tends to happen." Reps added, "I've just been around long enough that my circuits have gotten used to their shenanigans."

"If you ladies are done chatting, I think the core is just ahead." Haseo grumbled, "The sooner the better too, I can't wait to be rid of you and your problems…"

"Is that him?" Dark asked, seeing a strange purple mass in the distance, "He looks creepy."

"That's his real form." Haseo explained, "He just takes that human form to avoid suspicion and get around."

"You know…he strikes me as the kind of guy that really wouldn't be all that bad save for circumstance." Sora interjected, "I mean I have experience with those types so…I get that vibe."

"Maybe…" Haseo trailed off before shaking his head, "We've got to stop him so come on!"

Running down the path ahead of them, it became clear Cubia knew they were coming as they had to dodge numerous obstacles, including what seemed to be an endless stream of Cubia's Gomora and tendrils flying from every which way.

"It's like we've stumbled into some generic, terrible hentai…except there's no sexy girls in sailor outfits." Dark commented, slashing the tendrils to pieces, "What a waste…"

"Is now really the time to be thinking of that?" Reps sighed, clearing a path for the group.

"…what is this hentai he speaks of?" Quorra asked, confused by the words Dark was saying, "And why does it involve girls?"

"You're better off not knowing…" Ryan sighed, seeing their goal in sight, "Quick! On to that platform!"

"So, you've finally made it here." Cubia bellowed, staring at the heroes, "Do you really believe you have any hope of defeating me?"

"We don't know the meaning of the word fail so yeah, I'd say we do." Dark joked, sticking his tongue out at Cubia, "We've faced bigger and badder than you before…"

"Exactly…we can't let you ruin this world or any world!" Ryan shouted, spinning his Keysabers, "So let's go!"

"…you hurt my friend…and caused me to have to deal with so much bullshit." Haseo grumbled, readying his pistols, "I am so going to enjoy this!"

"Fools! With the power of this ENCOM system behind me I'm beyond anything you can imagine! Kite could never stop me…and neither shall you!" Cubia shouted, unleashing the full force of his fury upon our heroes.

"Doesn't anyone find the fact that that system being from 1982 makes his claim a little less intimidating?" Ryan commented…and was promptly ignored, "Thanks guys..."

"I think we pissed him off." Sora groaned, standing back up and using his Keyblade as a crutch.

"I don't understand though…he shouldn't be able to interface with the MCP like this." Quorra, "Unless…he's more like a virus of some kind."

"I suppose that's close enough to the truth…" Haseo mumbled, "We can't let him win…"

"Then we won't…let's go Dark!" Ryan shouted, signaling for a combined attack as they walloped on Cubia from multiple angles, "Now, let's finish this!"

With a nod, Ryan and Dark fused and put all the strength they could muster into their Keysabers as they bore down on Cubia…but met with resistance.

"You fool…what power could you posses against one such as myself." Cubia chortled as he held them back.

"We can't…let it end…like this." Kouki seethed, "I can't let our friends down…"

"Guys…what should I do…" Haseo murmured to himself, "Without you I…I don't think we can win."

"I knew you weren't as bad-tempered as you act…" Reps joked having overheard him, "You have friends to protect besides Kite don't you?"

"So what if I do?" Haseo grunted, "Even if they were here I don't know what we could do to win…I mean just look at your friend; he's not even scratching them."

"Maybe, but he won't give up…even if he dies he'll do anything he can to save his friends." Reps explained, "And I know you would too for your friends…"

"Then what should we do? Even the combined attacks of all of us weren't enough…And he can't stay in a deadlock forever." Haseo noted, seeing Kouki slowly losing ground.

"You users can do anything, right?" Quorra interjected, "I've seen you do amazing things…so I know you can't fail."

"Heh, you're right…" Haseo stated, standing up and pulling out Kite's twinblades, "Alright…let's finish Cubia once and for all!"

Just when Kouki felt he couldn't hold Cubia off any longer, Haseo jumped in and helped push him back.

"Hey, don't forget us!" Sora shouted, charging headlong to attack with Reps, "We won't let you do it alone…we want some glory too you know."  
"Heh, he's been around us too long." Reps retorted before unloading a massive blast at Cubia.

"Insects…to still hold on to delusions that I can be beaten…why do you persist?" Cubia growled.

"It's something you won't ever understand Cubia…when you have people you care about you will do everything in your power to protect them!" Kouki shouted, "And with a whole galaxy of friends I can't let you have your way!"

"Fool, friendship is your answer? How can something like that defeat a God?" Cubia roared, unleashing his full might upon our heroes.

"Ahhhhh!" Quorra shouted being blown back from the force, and being caught by none other than a fully restored Azure Kite, "Oh…it's you."

"But how…unless…that would mean that…" Cubia stuttered before feeling something pierce through him and leave a gaping hole in his chest, "How could you break my code?"

"Arrrrrhhh…" Kite replied as he set Quorra down, "Haaaaa…"

"I fight for the users!" Tron shouted, catching his identity disc and winding up for another throw, "As they fight for us!"

Cubia could only watch as Tron blasted his defenses and allowed the full force of our heroes attack to rip through him, shattering his essence into a thousand pieces.

"How could…I lose…to a bunch…of humans…and a raccoon dog?" Cubia gasped in his last moments of consciousness.

"Dammit! I AM NOT A RACCOON DOG!" Reps shouted, annihilating the remnants of Cubia and ending this whole blasted sequence of trouble, "I'm a hedgehog…"

As Cubia disappeared into the ether, the whole group of heroes (the human/non-data ones anyway) soon felt very tired and then passed out.

"Arrrrrr…" Kite groaned as he helped Tron and Quorra pick them up and carry them back to somewhere safe.

"Heh that was a nice line; very heroic." Dark mumbled to Tron before finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

"Users…I'll never understand them." Tron chuckled as they made their way back to the entrance.

**Outside the System**

"Oh, my head is killing me." Dark groaned, shaking his head as he noticed he was back in the real world, "How'd we get here?"

"You just sort of popped out of nowhere." Leon commented, looking over the console, "All of you did, Tron said you'd broken you limits and would recover faster here."

"That sounds like something he'd say." Sora added, "So, did we win?"

"Heh, take a look for yourself." Leon replied, motioning towards the screen.

Pictured there were Tron, Haseo, and Quorra, albeit in 8-bit, saying 'Thank You' for saving the system while an 8-bit Azure Kite hovered in the background.

"Heh, we did it…now maybe we can deal with the bigger fish." Ryan stated, well aware they weren't done yet, "Speaking of that…where's Yoshino?"

"He was with Mickey at Merlin's but he went to fight off the Nobodies while you were how he put it, "playing around"." Leon chuckled, "We can go find them if you're done."

"Sounds like a good a plan as any." Reps mumbled, "The sooner we do this the sooner this crap is over with."

As the group made their way towards Merlin's, who should come running up but Yoshino.

"Guys…we've got trouble." Yoshino quickly spat out, confusing everyone in the group.

"What do you mean by that?" Dark asked, "That doesn't sound good…"

Suddenly a loud rumbling was heard as a very high-powered energy filled the air around Hallow Bastion.

"Oh no…it's started." Yoshino stated, "While I was fighting…I got sucker-punched by the number I's of the Organizations. They took the badges…"

"How the hell do you sucker-punch a ninja?" Ryan shouted, "I guess Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were trying to stop them?"

"They put up some stupid force-field around the Gate so we couldn't get through." Yoshino explained, "We've got to get there as fast as we can; even if they succeed we might still be able to fight him."

"Fight who Yosh?" Dark asked following behind him with the others.

"Kinjinshi…"

**The Cardinal Gate**

"With all the badges we can finally summon forth the power this gate has locked away." Sakura chuckled, watching Xenmas place in the final badge, "And then finally…we can use that power to make our dreams reality."

"Well put my analog. We can only hope the heroes interfere, so that they can be dealt with as well." Xenmas commented, before watching the badges shimmer and shine as the doors slowly began to part and a bright, white light sprung forth…and then nothing.

"…what is happening?" Sakura asked confused, "Where is this God of the Center we were told about?"

Suddenly the ground began to rumble loudly as the walls cracked and the gate shook, a large, grey tree rising from the depths and ascending slowly, its form soon towering over all of Hollow Bastion.

"Heh, it would seem this is who we were waiting for." Xenmas surmised, "I must say, I did not expect a tree of all things."

"XENMAS!"

"Oh, look, the heroes have finally made it." Sakura cackled, "All according to plan."

"Oh man, tell me that isn't what I think it is Yosh?" Ryan asked, staring up at the huge tree looming before them.

"Well, it's not the Tree of Might, that's for sure." Dark joked, before being smacked by Yosh, "Hey, just trying to lighten the mood."

"This is not good...guys, be ready for him." Yosh repeated, "Kijinshi's arrival is foretold by this, the Nageki no Ki…the Tree of Lamentation."

"But the other gods didn't fight us…well, okay Suzaku did but she was possessed, so why would this Kinjinshi guy fight us?" Sora asked, rather confused on the whole deal.

"Why wouldn't he when we are the ones to summon him?" Sakura asked, staring at our heroes, "If you hadn't been involved all of the gods would be under our command…instead we must rely on Kinjinshi to ice all of you."

"Hey, the only Ice around here is me missy!" Yoshino shouted, waving his Keysaber menacingly, "Guess Mickey decided to help protect the town so…it's just us five guys."

"And that's different from the other times how?" Reps joked, "I think those two may have underestimated Kinjinshi though…"

"What is that raccoon dog going on about?" Xenmas commented, before detecting a strong presence heading towards them, "What is this…power? It's coming from…the tree?"

With that a huge explosion rocked forth, pieces of the tree splintering out in different directions as a rather tall fellow appeared, clad entirely in something not unlike that of a knight's armor.

Hefting a large white cross emblazoned with a red design over his shoulder, he slowly flapped his wings as if contemplating something and trying to decide his action.

"Ah, so he finally makes an appearance…how nice of you to show Kinjinshi!" Sakura exclaimed, "And just in time to help us out…"

"Sakura…something doesn't seem right here…" Xenmas cautioned, seemingly shaken by Kijinshi's presence.

"Dude, this guy must be crazy tough to shake Xenmas, I've never seen him with that look before." Sora commented as the heroes had no choice but to watch and wait as well.

After an unbearable fifteen minutes, Kinjinshi raised his sword and stared at the two Organization members with contempt.

"Who are you to demand things of me?" Kinjinshi bellowed in a voice that shook the heavens, "Begone!"

With one quick slash Kinjinshi smacked Xenmas and Sakura far away before turning to stare at Ryan and the others.

"Oh shit…he's looking at us isn't he?" Ryan asked his friend.  
"Um…maybe he knows we found the badges; I mean, this could be a good thing, right?" Dark replied, wondering if they'd have to fight.

"You four are the spoken heroes that have each earned the blessing of my brethren." Kinjinshi explained, his red cloak billowing in the wind, "As such, you have seen fit to summon me."

"So, excuse me for asking, but what does that mean?" Sora questioned, hoping the answer wasn't what he expected.

"Simple…I now must face you in combat to test your skills for myself." Kinjinshi stated, striking his fighting stance, "Now then: Do you have the reason to fight?"

"So how do we handle this? Should we all attack at once?" Dark asked, readying his stance but not sure how to act.

"Well, he was protected by the other four for a reason right?" Ryan asked Yosh.

"True, but it would seem they did such not to protect him but to keep his power under check." Yoshino explained, readying his Keysaber, "I say we throw everything we've got at him and hope for the best."

"Ah, so business as usual." Reps joked, "Fine, whatever, this was getting boring anyway."

"I still don't like this plan." Sora sighed, before striking a stance with the others, "What the hell! Let's go crazy!"

"Come at me!" Kinjinshi commanded and that's exactly what our heroes did with Ryan and Dark leading the charge.

Ryan's attempts to hit him left him missing but Dark was able to sneak in a quick hit before getting backhanded by Kinjinshi's cross, a move that sent him plummeting into the Tree.

Yoshino followed up by summoning his energy into his Keysaber and staring down Kinjinshi as the two locked eyes; in a quick flash the two switched positions before Yoshino grabbed his arm and grimaced.

However, Kinjinshi's cross had a nice chunk sliced out of it that left him at a disadvantage, however slight.

"We're barely even hitting the damn guy!" Reps shouted, unleashing his buster as fast as possible as Kinjinshi dodged them all with unbelievable speed, "Fuck!"

"Disappointing…" Kinjinshi muttered as he grabbed Reps by the head and slammed him into the ground, dragging him along before finally tossing him aside.

"…I'm…okay…" Reps grumbled before crawling out of the hole he'd created.

"…this is insane!" Sora shouted, running up the tree and jumping at Kinjinshi's backside ready to release some Ragnarok before getting hit by the thrown remaining fragment of Kinjinshi's cross, "…shit."

"Alright, regroup!" Ryan shouted, seeing that his friend's weren't making much progress, "We clearly need another idea."

"Is this all the chosen heroes have to give? I will say that destroying my cross was admirable…but if that is all you have…" Kinjinshi boomed, staring at them.

"Alright Dark, you know what to do!" Ryan shouted, running at this counterpart.

"Fusion! Wapoh!" Dark shouted as the two took on their fused form.

"I'm impressed that you know that technique." Kinjinshi chuckled, "Let's see how you handle now."

"Gladly!" Kouki shouted, spinning his Keysabers before charging at him, "We'll make you cry Bloody Tears!"

Kinjinshi merely chuckled as Kouki flew at him head-on and was held back by his hand.

"Ugh, you're tougher now, that's for sure." Kinjinshi grinned, managing to knock him away, "I haven't had this much fun in ages."

"Happy to oblige then." Kouki retorted back before winding up and charging at him again, quickly dodging Kinjinshi's block and slicing off his wings, "And he's going down ladies and gentleman."

"Argh!" Kinjinshi shouted as he felt the full force of his appendage disappearance and the ground as he hit it, "Impressive…I think I need to step up my game then."

"Why don't I like the sound of that?" Yoshino questioned as he saw Kinjinshi chanting something, "Oh Christwagons this will not be good…"

"What is…"Kinjinshi whispered as a strange purple color surrounded him, "your justice?

With that Kinjinshi transformed with his outer body thinning and being enveloped by armored purple wings, stoic faces on each one staring at our heroes as his sword reshaped into a tall staff.

"Now that's just not right, purple isn't supposed to be evil!" Kouki pouted, readying his sabers.

"Now then, let us try that again." Kinjinshi shouted, charging at Kouki and smacking him hard with his staff, "Slow…"

"Ugh…that is ouchies." Kouki sighed as he slowed his fall, only to see Kinjinshi right in his face, "ay caramba!"

"Your puns are bad." Kinjinshi shouted, smacking Kouki into the tree and splitting him back into Ryan and Dark, "How disappointing…"

"Ryan! Dark! Wake up guys!" Yoshino shouted, shaking his friends out of their daze.

"Did you get that truck that hit me's number?" Dark grumbled, "Man, he can pack a wallop!"

"Ugh…what are we gonna do? I mean, shit, if Kouki can't do much…wait, where's Sora?" Ryan groaned, standing up slowly.

"He said something about reinforcements…well; we can do what was only hinted at before." Yoshino stated, "Though I am hesitant to do such given the results…"

"You don't mean…" Reps started before refusing to finish, "Anything but that…"

"I think he's serious." Dark added with a grin, "Deadly SIRIUS!"

"Oh, I'm going to regret this but…let's go Dark!" Yoshino shouted, doing the motions to fuse.

"Ah hell yeah! It's about time he showed up again!" Dark shouted in reply, "Fusion! Wapoh!"

In an explosion of purple and blue energy, a (somewhat) new hero emerged to face Kinjinshi.

"As a wise man once said, "It's time to Drop the Bomb on yo' ass!"" Scotty D shouted, spinning his Keysabers, "So let's put the D to the A to the A to the N to the A to the C to the C to the E and DANCE BABY!"

"What the me?" Kinjinshi barely stated before getting kicked fiercely in the head that sent him flying into the Tree, lodging him there, "I underestimated your style…I see how you fight now!"

Pulling himself free, Kinjinshi opened the face on either side of his armor and let loose a blinding flash of light hiding him from sight.

"Where is he?" Ryan shouted, "I can't see anything now!"

"I wonder if Scotty D can." Reps questioned, trying to reboot his optics.

"A shame this has to end now, you were proving to be more of a challenge than the other." Kinjinshi stated as he moved into to a seemingly blind and helpless Scotty D, "This ends now!"

"I couldn't agree more." Scotty D replied, flashing a grin before disappearing from sight.

"What the? How can you still see!" Kinjinshi shouted, trying to find him before feeling something bury itself in his back, "Argh!"

"Did you think these shades were just for show?" Scotty D replied, before tearing off Kinjinshi's armor, "Besides, a true warrior relies on more than his sight…but I think you know that."

"Heh, well done chosen ones." Kinjinshi chuckled as he shook Scotty D off and began chanting again.

"Another transformation?" Ryan shouted, "What the hell man? Isn't that cheating?"

"Well, to be fair, you guys technically transformed with the fusing and all…" Reps interjected.

"…why do we keep you around again?" Ryan sighed, "And what is keeping that spiky haired idiot?"

"The getting one…" Kinjinshi murmured, a golden aura overtaking him this time, "from heaven!"

"Damn yo'! This is gonna suck!" Scotty D grumbled as he was pushed back by the energy Kinjinshi now gave off.

Kinjinshi had cloaked himself in a golden armor, was now wielding a white and gold sword and a shield that was a mix of black and gold with intricately spiraling white patterns emblazoned upon it.

"Now then, shall we continue?" Kinjinshi stated, raising a hand and beckoning Scotty D to bring it, "I'd greatly appreciate if you were to Stick Around…now you've got me doing it."

"Heh, then allow me to show you why I'm such a Midnite Blaze!" Scotty D shouted, tossing his Keysabers at Kinjinshi and dashing behind them.

"…the puns are starting to get a bit irritating." Reps grumbled, "At least I can see again though."

"Lucky you." Ryan groaned, "I can still just make out shapes, that move of his is pretty strong."

"Well, I don't think they're doing too well." Reps stated before seeing them land and split apart in front of them, "Yeah, I think it's safe to assume that."

"Ugh…man, talk about your Knock-Out Regrets!" Dark groaned before passing out.

"Shit, this guy's tough!" Yoshino laughed loudly, "I'm having fun…I guess it's our turn then."

"And my sight's back too, what timing!" Ryan replied, "Hmm, I think this might be a first for the story as well…"

"Anytime you're ready to fight you know…" Kinjinshi huffed impatiently, "Not that I don't mind my time out of the gate but I am getting bored…"

"What is it with all the Gods of the Cardinal Gate being a bit…oddball?" Reps questioned with a sigh.

"To answer your question Ryan, I think it might be…not counting the card game appearance!" Yoshino shouted, "So let's do it! Fusion! Wapoh!"

"Hmmm…another one of them…to think all three of them not only know the fusion technique but can do so with each other…now I see why the others entrusted them with their symbols." Kinjinshi mused, "Well then…what do they call you new warrior?"

"I am…Eclipse." Eclipse stated, dusting off his sleeves, "And I'll be the last thing you ever see."

"Heh, that's quite the bold exclamation seeing as your other friends haven't fared well against me." Kinjinshi chuckled, "Come at me then."

Saying nothing, Eclipse gripped the two swords in his hand tightly, his jacket flapping in the breeze as a strange silence settled over the battlefield.

"Rending Ice…"

"What did you say?" Kinjinshi asked before feeling a stabbing pain in his back, "How…?"

"Your reactions are not up to snuff…" Eclipse coldly stated, one of his swords coated in ice and currently sticking right through Kinjinshi, "And now…Shatter!"

"What?" Kinjinshi gasped before shouting in absolute pain, the ice on Eclipse's sword shooting forth and exploding outward, "Ugh…heh…so much fun."

"That's interesting talk from someone with a bunch of holes in him…here, this might help!" Eclipse stated, reaching into his jacket and pulling out a leek, "I hear vegetables are good for you after all…"

"…you've been watching Bobobo again, haven't you?" Reps sighed, seeing him actually try to physically patch Kinjinshi up with the leek.

"Hmmm…it appears I've been fed false information too…WHY!" Eclipse shouted, suddenly smacking Kinjinshi with the leek fiercely, completely catching him off-guard and knocking him to the ground.

"Such a…mysterious warrior…however…" Kinjinshi grunted, pulling himself up, "Opened Gate, Battle of Destiny…"

"Ah shit, not again." Eclipse groaned, "How many forms does this guy have?"

As a dark red glow enveloped Kinjinshi, he finally assumed his true form: covered in a small amount of golden armor and headdress, red and black wings jutting from everywhere, and a black dragon curled around his body, it's and Kinjinshi's eyes a bright piercing white staring down our heroes.

"I haven't been in this form in a long time…however, this is truly the final test heroes." Kinjinshi hissed, "You must defeat me now…otherwise the fully realized Cardinal Gate shall destroy all that you hold dear…"

"Ugh…did you really have to pull that old card?" Eclipse sighed, "Fine then…we won't be so light to be taken down by you!"

Diving at him, Eclipse gave his all trying to attack Kinjinshi but something was different, this form seemed a bit more formidable.

"I must say I'm surprised, you can almost hit me." Kinjinshi mocked, easily dodging anything thrown at him, "…was that a banana?"

"Yes." Eclipse nodded, "And now the tree it was attached to!"

"You're quite the odd personality…but enough joking." Kinjinshi stated, landing a hard blow to Eclipse's gut, "You shan't survive this."

What followed was enough punch blur movements to make even the Fist of the North Star blush as Eclipse was pummeled relentlessly before being slammed down to the ground and splitting back into Ryan and Yoshino.

"Well, that seemed a bit shameful." Dark commented, having awoken sometime in the middle of Eclipse's beating, "Well then, what now? None of our fusions worked fully on this guy…and we've got no options left."

"Is that really it?" Reps asked, "Is there nothing we can do now?"

"Well, none of us can fuse with you unfortunately…we can't just give up now!" Ryan growled, "What I want to know is where the hell is Sora!"

"I'd worry more about yourselves if I were you." Kinjinshi stated, landing in front of the heroes and pointing at them, "Come now, have you no more spirit!"

"I don't care how strong you are, we will not give up!" Ryan shouted, spinning his Keysabers, "All-out attack everyone!"

With that the four heroes put their all into a final attack, coming at Kinjinshi with everything they had…and for a moment it seemed to have some effect until they began to tire and soon they were picked off one by one.

"Ugh…we can't…can't…" Ryan groaned, holding himself up with his weapon.

"You've been admirable rivals, but this ends now…how sad." Kinjinshi stated, winding up for the final blow…

"Never give up…no matter what!"

"What the?" Kinjinshi asked before being blind-sided by a figure clad in black and white clothing…very familiar clothing at that.

"So-Sora?" Dark groaned out, dusting himself off, "What happened to you?"

"An old friend figured you needed a hand…so I found a way." Sora explained, two Keyblades floating behind him as well as two more off his right shoulder, "Heh, I'm just glad you're still alive."

"No thanks to you spike-ball." Ryan chuckled, "You sure took your sweet time."

"Hey, you know how hard I had to work at getting Final Form right?" Sora joked back, "Besides I made it…that's all that matters now."

"Well, I suppose so." Yosh moaned, clutching his ribs, "But unless you've got some tricks up your sleeve even that form won't be a match for him."

"You're joking, right?" Reps asked, his face showing a very pained look.

"…You know I don't."

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Excuse me…but I think you interrupted me, rather rudely as well." Kinjinshi coughed, picking himself up and showing no sign of damage.

"Well damn…" Sora sighed, "So much for all that quick training."

"Oh, you're the other hero from before…I wondered where you went." Kinjinshi mused, "And using the Drive style of Fusion; curious, I wasn't aware anyone still existed that knew that technique. It's of no consequence, though, as you will soon join your friends in oblivion."

"I prefer Oathkeeper myself." Sora chuckled, "Let's go!"

"He won't be able to keep that up long so we'd best think of something fast." Yoshino warned, "You guys are good at pulling things out of your ass…so come on, do it!"

"Jeez…put us on the spot why don't you?" Dark growled, "Ryan, do you have anything…Ryan…?"

Ryan at this point seemed to have the strangest look in his eyes as if he wasn't completely there at the moment and just as suddenly as it came it left.

"Could that work? But it hinges on so many things lining up…" Ryan began to ramble, ignoring the others.

"Ryan?" Dark asked, grabbing his shoulder, "Did you come up with something?"

"Uh…yes and no. I have a plan…but…technically I didn't come up with it..." Ryan explained, "Someone we know did…"

"Well then, what is it?" Reps asked, "Sora's looking a little rough out there."

"Dark and I have to fuse."

"But you tried that already…"

"I know but this time will be different…and then…well, I'm not sure if it'll work but Sora then Drive fuses with us." Ryan finished explaining, "The idea just…came to me."

"Fuse with Sora? Will that even work?" Dark asked, watching as Sora finally crash landed at their feet, "Well, I guess we've got nothing to lose."

"Indeed…let's do it Dark! Fusion! WAPOH!" Ryan shouted, fusing with his other half and…creating something that wasn't Kouki…in fact, just who the hell was this?

"…Keydan?" Sora groaned as he regained consciousness and lifted himself up.

"Who?" Reps asked, "I don't recognize him at all and yet…he has a strange resemblance to a couple of chuckleheads I know."

"Time is short…Sora we need to fuse Drive style." Keydan explained, "Otherwise no one will be safe."

"I'm not sure how to do that though…" Sora admitted, "Can we even do that?"

"Search your heart…I'm pretty sure someone in there will help you." Keydan stated with a grin, "He won't be missing this, I'm quite certain."

Sora merely closed his eyes as he felt something within him, a strange kind of warmth, one that he knew.

"CUSTOM DRIVE!"

"What could they be discussing?" Kinjinshi asked himself, unaware of what was going on, "What the…? That light…"

After a blinding light and an explosion of energy that sent dust flying in every direction, a single figure was seen standing opposite Kinjinshi, a multitude of Keys floating behind him.

"Hmmm, curious…you're a combination of their two fusion styles…what is your name?" Kinjinshi asked, curious to see such a sight.

"…I have No Name…I am a lost warrior…born from the power of those that seek justice." No Name replied, "I am the DJ of this gig; you shall not win."

"Heh, I see the cockiness trait is still there." Kinjinshi mused, "Very well…show me your power."

"You shall regret that…" No Name quietly replied before vanishing from sight.

"He's fast…I'll give him that." Kinjinshi stated, barely turning around to block two of No Name's Keys before seeing sent reeling by a kick, "Ugh…heh….could I have met an equal?"

"Surrender…there is no need to continue this pointless violence." No Name commented, staring at Kinjinshi's prone form.

"Heh…do you truly believe you compare to a god?" Kinjinshi chuckled, "Feel the full force of the Cardinal Gate!"

With those words the gate swung wide open, flooding the area with energy and feeding Kinjinshi's power.

"As I said before…you shall not win." No Name focused, calling forth the badges of the other four gods, "This is your last chance…"

"Prove your worth! Strike down the Gate and me with it if you truly believe you can win!" Kinjinshi shouted, throwing all he had at our hero.

"…fool." No Name sighed before focusing on the badges and calling forth the power they held.

Rushing at Kinjinshi, No Name began to dash like crazy, slamming his seemingly unending arsenal of Keys through him as the badges began to pulse with power.

"Burning fires of life, ice cold touch of mortality combine with the infinite knowledge of the cosmos, and the carefree spirit that lives in all things! Those of the Cardinal Gate lend me the strength to protect the world from this unrelenting power that seeks to tear it asunder: INESCAPABLE DISTORTION!"

"Come on, Come on! YES! HIT TO KEY!" Reps shouted in referential joy.

"Such…power…" Kinjinshi gasped as he was surrounded by the combined might of Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, and Byakko channeled through our hero, "Heh…you…pass."

As the gate began to close and the powers subside, No Name slowly settled to the ground and gave a chuckle.

"Well…looks like we got to be the hero together one last time…yeah, it'll be hard…but we're tough…they're tough." No Name murmured to himself before collapsing hard, "Farewell…"

With that the hero that no longer was returned to Ryan, Dark, and Sora…and also Donald and Goofy since those two were part of Sora's Final Form.

"We won?" Reps coughed out, finally making the decision to speak.

"It would appear so, but those two are out like a light." Yoshino commented, able to finally move, "Heh, they were always at each other's throats but in the end they were able to save the day together…go figure."

"Well…we should take them somewhere to recoup for now." Reps stated, hefting Ryan on his shoulder, "Dude…he needs to lay off the Doritos."

"I'm….not…that heavy." Ryan grumbled out before drooling on Reps.

"Ew…" Reps sighed, following the others…who didn't notice they were being followed by five lights…

**Hollow Bastion: Castle Infirmary**

"Ugh…where…the battle!" Ryan shouted, sitting upright in his bed, "Hey, I guess we won."

"Finally, thought you were going to sleep forever." Sora joked from his bed, "I thought you were made of tougher stuff."

"Heh, you're one to talk Roxas." Ryan jabbed back with a grin.

"Typical Keydan, leaping before looking as always…but that plan was pretty successful." Sora retorted.

The two stared at each other briefly before breaking out into laughter, which happened to wake up Dark.

"Just no such thing as letting a demon rest is there?" Dark growled, "Heh, never thought I'd see you guys so buddy buddy."

At this time Yoshino saw fit to finally reappear with the others and a hearty happy sound thundered forth that everyone pulled through okay.

"Gosh, I didn't think you were ever gonna wake up." Goofy blabbered out, happy his friend was finally awake.

"I think they just wanted to sleep a lot." Reps sighed into a chuckle, "That sounds about right."

"Well, if you guys can walk, then we have one last piece of business to deal with…" Mickey explained, as the three heroes stood up and somewhat shakily walked after them.

**Hallow Bastion: Gate Courtyard**

"Well, the gates closed at least so the world's safe." Ryan sighed, "You said something about some unfinished business?"

"It turns out the Cardinal Gate deities have some parting words for us…all of us." Mickey explained, "Ah, speaking of which…here they are."

Five bright lights appeared before them: Red, Blue, Green, Purple, and White; these lights slowly swirled around the heroes before taking on the familiar forms of Suzaku, Seiryuu, Genbu, Byakko, and Kinjinshi.

"Thank you heroes…we were wise to put our trust in you." Suzaku stated, graciously bowing to them.

"Indeed, of course I knew that much…all that knowledge and such." Genbu joked before being smacked by Seiryuu, "Ouch!"

"I still can't believe this guy is the most knowledgeable being in the universe." Reps sighed.

"In all seriousness though, we are glad you were able to stop Kinjinshi." Seiryuu continued on, ignoring Genbu, "We knew it would be a difficult trial to save him but you all certainly proved yourselves by never giving up."  
"Heh, you boys are alright." Byakko stated with a laugh, "Now we can get all this nasty business about mixed up universes fixed and return things to how they should be."

"Yes…they've done well to free me and fix the whole mess that occurred. Before we start fixing things though, the five of us have something for each of you so that you may never forget your heroics." Kinjinshi explained, motioning with his hands as five objects appeared before Ryan, Dark, Reps, Yoshino, and Sora, "These five weapons will hopefully serve you well on your travels in the future."

"For Ryan, whose heart burns strongly with a want for justice, my power is yours." Suzaku explained, as Ryan grasped a shining red Keysaber wrapped in pulsing orange flames.

"I bestow upon Yoshino, whose stoic personality and calm visage is as cool as ice, my powers." Seiryuu stated, as Yoshino grasped a deep blue Keysaber, the handle in the shape of a snowflake with an ice dragon wrapped around the blade.

"As for Reps, whose cunning nature and knowledge of things beyond fighting for situations that require more finesse, I hope you'll wield my power well." Genbu declared, as Reps felt his internal circuits sharpening and powering up; in addition his blaster hand was now a deep shade of jade inscribed with the kanji for Genbu.

"Dark, you're carefree way of life and living as well as the somewhat reckless nature that you fight certainly wins points in my books." Byakko stated with a hearty laugh, "But behind all that is a heart that is serious about protecting his friends and the world they live in. I know you'll use my powers well."

Dark could only grin in agreement as he took hold of a royal purple Keysaber, the handle patterned in black stripes with a sharp looking tiger's claw on the rear of the handle.

"And finally, as you will be on your own away from the other four after this, you will be bestowed with abilities from me." Kinjinshi explained while producing a very plain looking Keyblade modeled after the Cardinal Gate, "As you use your Drive technique to take different forms, so shall you be able to call upon the abilities of my forms through this blade."

"Thank you, I won't let it go to waste." Sora stated, accepting the blade, "Wait…you said something about being alone?"

"Of course, with us free and Kinjinshi back to how he should be the Gate is in harmony." Suzaku explained, "And with that your realities will return to how they should be."

"So then that means…we'll be parting ways." Ryan stated, looking over at Sora and his bunch, "I…I'm not sure I feel happy about that."

"For the worlds to be safe, we much return order, which means making it as if the whole incident with the Cardinal Gate never existed." Seiryuu replied, "I am sorry…you have grown rather close with your battles so I know this must be rough."

"Heh, stupid Keydan." Sora shouted with a pained look, "You should know better than anyone that no matter how far apart we'll be we won't ever forget one another…even if our minds do, our hearts won't ever let us forget."

"…you would say something like that, wouldn't you Roxas?" Dark chuckled back, "Well, so be it then…we saved our worlds for now and that's how it should be."

"You truly are chosen heroes." Genbu stated with a pleased smile, "Well then, it's time we got to work."

"Indeed…it's been fun. I haven't had this much enjoyment in ages!" Byakko shouted, laughing as he disappeared from sight.

"Farewell heroes, I know the worlds are in good hands as long as you never give up." Kinjinshi stated before joining the others in front of the gate.

The group of mismatched heroes watched in silence as the gate gave a huge groan and slammed shut for the final time, the image slowly disappearing from their sight as the gods, having done their work, disappeared as well.

"I guess we don't have much time now, huh Ryan?" Sora asked, waiting for the inevitable.

"No…oh, but I do have a nickname for your weapon." Ryan chuckled, "You'll love it."

"Oh yeah, what did you come with?"

"Well, we beat Kinjinshi, who was involved with the Nageki no Ki…so, that would make your weapon the Nageki no Keyblade." Ryan shouted with excited laughter.

And on cue everyone face faulted rather violently at Ryan's dumb pun.

"Well played…well played." Sora laughed, picking himself up, "Hmm, I feel odd."

"Gawrsh, we're getting all see-through." Goofy commented, seeing his hand becoming transparent.

"Donald…" Reps stated.

"Yeah Reps…" Donald replied.

"I still can't understand a word you say."

"…I'll miss you too."

"Heh, I still can't believe you're my analog." Yoshino chuckled with a sigh, "At least you're competent so I can feel okay with it."

"Heh, just keep those two in line, I can tell they'll be trouble." Mickey replied with a quick laugh, "Oh my, I think this might be it."

With one final silent goodbye, Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey soon vanished from sight and left our group of heroes in a bit of stunned silence as the wind slowly picked up.

"Any reason you guys are just standing around staring into the distance?" Leon stated, having come to check on them, "I thought you said you had something important to do real quick and then you'd be gone."

"…You know, I can't remember why we're standing here." Ryan replied, "And where did this Keysaber come from?"

"I've got one too." Dark replied, "I feel like…someone important gave them to us."

"That's strange; even I can't recall why we came here." Yoshino sighed, looking over his mystery weapon, "What do you guys remember us doing last?"

"Well, there was the distress call from Roll, we met some strange King who wanted help fixing the stars, something about another Ryan, Amy Rose, and another Sonic reality, and then something about a pixilated world?" Reps stated, grabbing his head, "I feel all weird and my memory is quite fuzzy."

"Well, whatever the reason you guys were here, shouldn't you be getting a move on to stop the Organization?" Leon asked, rather confused himself about what they were talking about.

"Right, we've got to go stop them and save Charmy and the others!" Ryan shouted.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Dark shouted, running off towards their pickup point.

"Come on Reps, if you get there last we won't save you any Yakisoba." Yoshino joked, chasing after Dark, "Hey man, don't eat it all if you get there first!"

Grumbling in agreement, Reps followed suit and as the group made their way there Ryan stopped, feeling something odd in his pocket.

"Now what could that be?" Ryan asked, pulling out a strange looking pendant, "…I know this."

Ryan's eyes began to water as a memory came to him: one of a spiky haired boy in checkered clothing that would always smile but somehow still seem sad.

"Ryan, what's the matter dude?" Dark asked, having stopped when he saw Ryan do the same.

"Oh, I was…just thinking about an old friend." Ryan explained, staring at the pendant, "I wonder, will he find his happy ending too?"

"You always were the sentimental one." Dark joked, lightly punching Ryan in the shoulder, "Come on man, if they eat up all the food before we get there, I'm holding you responsible!"

Ryan merely shook his head and pocketed the keepsake before chasing after Dark, yelling something about him being a complete and utter dip.

As our heroes hurriedly make their way back to the ship, a single star hurtles through the dimming sky signaling that, perhaps, the other heroes will find their happy ending too…


	14. NiGHTOPiAN NiGHTMaRES

**DDR HEARTS 2: NiGHTOPiAN NiGHTMaRES**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

The Outlaw Star

"I still get the feeling we're forgetting something." Dark commented as the crew of heroes settled in after dinner.

"Like some big adventure happened and we just forgot about it? What are the odds of that happening?" Ryan asked back, laughing at such a notion.

"If you ask me, it'd be right in line with you two." Reps shot out, grinning like a bastard.

"Beat me to it…" Yosh chimed in before going back to his meditation.

"Yesh, why do we bring you guys along again?" Dark growled in annoyance, "Anyway, I'm exhausted so if you'll excuse me I'm heading to bed."

Getting up and heading towards his room, Dark saw Alia sitting on the edge of their bed, three familiar cards in her hands.

"Wondering about those, are we?" Dark asked, sitting down next to her and snaking his arm around her waist.

"Dark…yeah, I think I've heard of these before. Tarot cards, right?" Alia asked, handing them to him.

"Yeah, someone interesting gave them to me…or sort of tricked me into drawing them I suppose. I'm not sure what it means but I don't think I've seen the last of him." Dark explained, "So then…shall we retire my sweet?"

"You goofball…"

With that Dark headed off to the realm of sleep…along with the rest of the crew of the Outlaw Star; however, he and a certain other handsome devil's destinations would be a little different than the rests.

Gate of Your Dreams

"Ugh…hey, wait…this is…I was wondering if we'd ever come back here again." Ryan stated, standing up and walking towards the fountain where he saw, "Dark…and NiGHTS."

"Ah, there he is, he decided to join us afterall." Dark joked, "Took you long enough…"

"Oh so funny, I hope he didn't annoy you too much NiGHTS." Ryan sighed, joining the two of them, "Owl seems to be absent so I suppose that means we won't be subject to any long winded speeches then?"

"Heh, you two crack me up so much…" NiGHTS replied, spinning in a circle, "So, what shall we do then now that you've returned?"

"Heh, you won't be doing anything NiGHTS! And don't expect any help from your little Visitor friends!" shouted a rather familiar voice.

"Oh look, its Drag Queen man!" Ryan shouted, "One beat down wasn't enough for you I take it?"

"Oh, so cocky now, but Master Wiseman has been examining you and your brother's abilities and auras. This time you won't be so lucky!" Reala cackled as a strange wave emanated from his hands.

"Ugh…what's happening to me?"D ark growled, falling to one knee and clutching his arm.

"I don't know, but I feel funky too." Ryan grunted, panting as he collapsed to his knees and hugged his chest, "What's…going…on?"

"Heh, let's see you try to use all those little abilities of yours now; better yet, let's see you do anything without NiGHTS around to help you!" Reala stated, snapping his fingers as NiGHTS was bound, chained, and then dragged through a rather ruined looking large door, "Heh, come after him if you dare…I'm sure the denizens in these dreams are just dying to meet you."

With that Reala left as he'd come, leaving our two heroes in a daze before they passed out.

Sometime later, Dark finally came too and saw Ryan still passed out and apparently staying that way despite how much he shook him.

"Ugh…that's odd, I didn't see that door there before." Dark stated, standing up slowly and seeing a large wooden door emblazoned with a stain-glass design before him, "Strange, that image looks so familiar, almost like I've seen it before…maybe in another reality."

Knowing that he had to find NiGHTS to try and get some answers, Dark pushed the door open and was engulfed in a bright light before a sensation of falling overtook him.

"Hmm, just where will I end up I wonder?" Dark thought aloud before seeing a title slide up before him…

The Dream of Ostentation: GOLD RUSH

"Oh God my eyes!" Dark shouted after arriving in this dream world, the glitter and glitz a little much for the poor half-demon's eyes to deal with initially, "Clearly this dream is all about not turning it down and going as flashy as possible…I LOVE IT!"

Now that he'd been able to gather his bearings, Dark saw that this was apparently some type of ultra-glam arcade, the lights, the neon, the machines…Dark wasn't sure to make of it but it look fantastic!

"Hmm…I detect a problem though…why the hell is everything so large?" Dark shouted, noting that he was just a tad out of scale, "A tad! Are you high author-boy? I'm like…six inches tall here, there's nothing threatening about a half-demon that short! Although I bet I am adorable at this size; yeah, the ladies would just be all fighting over me. Hmm, though it might end up like that other world we ended up at…tough call."

"Hello! Yes, Dark! Up here!" NiGHTS shouted from a jail cell of sorts inside what appeared to be a capsule machine, "If you could free me that'd be super…or you can leave me here and keep talking to yourself; it's up to you."

"Huh, you're a bit snarky when you want to be." Dark growled, "Well, I can fix that easily."

Jumping into the air, Dark was a bit surprised when he landed with a thud slightly injuring himself.

"Hmmm, I wonder if that's what Reala meant by problems." Dark groaned, "Well I can still use my enhanced demon strength to jump high!"

Bounding to and fro, Dark finally came upon the machine that held NiGHTS captive and tried to figure out how to free him.

"Oh wait, I just need some yens!" Dark stated, searching around before seeing a change machine, "Hmmm, this will troublesome, but I think I can do it."

Hoping over to the machine, Dark began fiddling around with the machine before finally just pushing it over the counter edge and...CRASH!

"Messy, but an effective way to Make It Make Money!" Dark stated, jumping down and picking up a rather large 500 YEN coin, "Alright, I think this should free you so hold on."

Tossing the coin into the slot, Dark pushed on the crank as hard as he could and finally…click, snap, whirr; out came a capsule, but no NiGHTS.

"Darn it, I didn't want a Reps figurine, I wanted the NiGHTS one." Dark growled in frustration, "Hmmm…well, I better try again."

After half an hour Dark was quite tried from carrying giant money and getting nowhere, NiGHTS now buried somewhere in the middle as he was no longer in sight.

"This plan doesn't seem to be working very well." NiGHTS groaned, tapping his foot impatiently, "Can't you think of a faster way?"

"A faster way to get you out? That might take some thinking with me this size." Dark replied, looking at the surrounding and seeing something that might work, "It might be a bit bumpy but I think this'll work."

Bounding up to the top of the counter, Dark worked out some quick math in his head, checked the angles, and deduced that what he wanted to attempt should work.

"Should…" Dark joked, before climbing up to one of the lights hanging above nearby, "Well, here goes nothing!"

Reaching back and slicing the cables with his claws, Dark waited for it to let go and come crashing down; finally hearing the last cable break Dark felt an increase in speed and held on tight.

"IIDX GOLD!" Dark shouted as the light knocked into the capsule machine, sending it careening into the ground and shattering open, sending its contents and a very dizzy NiGHTS spilling onto the floor.

"Which way is up?" NiGHTS stated, his eyes rolling in circles before shaking his head clear, "Oh hey, I'm free…quick, come dualize with me!"

"Hmmm…well, normally I'd ask for a list of everyone you've dualized with before, but you seem pretty level so I don't think that'll be a problem." Dark joked before running over to NiGHTS capsule and merging with him.

"Ah, this is much better." Dark stated, taking off into the sky and flying around recklessly, "Heh, that Reala is such a dork."

"I must say, even when you're like this you're way different than any Visitor I've encountered." NiGHTS commented, now doubting if dualizing with Dark was such a good idea.

Having reached a good vantage point, Dark slowed down and began to hover while surveying the entirety of this arcade.

"NiGHTS, I've a question: Why is this place like this?" Dark asked, clearly looking for some answers.

"Well, usually the dreams Visitors enter always have something to do with themselves, things they like, things they desire, or things they lament or are frightened of; apparently arcades would be something quite important to you." NiGHTS attempted to explain.

"That seems to make enough sense." Dark stated, "It's so empty though…I guess that's part of me as well then, right?"

"Only you can answer that one Dark, but it would seem that deep down you worry about how you're different from everyone; like it isolates you from everyone." NiGHTS stated, before shaking his head, "But hey, I'm just a purple jester that merges with people and soars through the dream realm, so what do I know?"

"Heh, you're a peculiar one that's for sure." Dark stated before resuming his flight, "Well, let's look around then, shall we?"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a certain mantled individual had been watching from the shadow before fading into the scenery, his faceless smile looking every so delightfully creepy.

"So my friend Darkness is finally back…I can't wait to have fun!"

Gate of Your Dreams

Meanwhile, Ryan had finally shaken off the effects of whatever Reala had done and was trying to piece together what was happening.

"Okay, Dark is gone, but he probably woke up first and went to save NiGHTS." Ryan deduced, "And since that door to the right there is the only one I can see around here odds are I'll find them in there."

Standing, Ryan felt it a little harder to move than usual and really had to shake it off to even walk.

"I feel so…weak. I don't really like this one little bit; I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened earlier." Ryan thought aloud, before trying to fly or use any of his abilities…only to find out that he couldn't.

"Well that's super then…hopefully that whole dualize thing can help, if I find NiGHTS that is." Ryan sighed, before heading towards the door and heading inside, not even paying attention to the image on it…

"Ack! What the hell, why am I falling?" Ryan asked in surprise, "Well, I hope this'll be a soft landing on the body or I'm screwed! Where am I heading anyway?"

As if in answer to his question, a quick description appeared before him…

The Dream of Isolation: MELANCHOLY MIST

"Jeez, what's with the fog here? I can barely see anything…" Ryan grumbled, trying to make his way towards anything that looked like a recognizable object, "Hmmm…I get the feeling I'm not alone here; better stay sharp."

Walking through the mists, Ryan soon saw the silhouette of a person coming closer…and then vanishing.

"Alright, that was creepy." Ryan commented to himself, "Hmmm, this place is starting to look a little familiar."

Seeing a nearby building, Ryan took note that he'd seen this place years before…in college.

"This is my old campus isn't it?" He mused, able to see vague shapes of the other buildings, "…not the best time in my life."

Before Ryan's thoughts could drift elsewhere, he caught glimpse of someone entering the building…someone with green hair.

"Charmy?"

Shaking his head at how it couldn't possibly be her but not being able to shake the feeling, Ryan chased after her, unaware of the trap being set.

"Heh, let's see how she toys with you Visitor." Reala cackled to himself as he faded in from the mists, "She's been quite interested in you ever since Master Wizeman created her…I hope she takes her time breaking the cocky little bastard."

Business College

"I don't remember this place being this large on the inside…or this twisted." Ryan huffed, catching his breath after chasing after what seemed to be Charmy, "Man, without my abilities I'm not doing well; I can't really be that out of shape, can I?"

Shaking his head and continuing slowly down the hall, Ryan came upon a room and suddenly images of the past appeared before him.

"Hey, that's me…and that other girl…after everything that's happened I'd forgotten about that." Ryan commented, seeing himself chatting with a blonde-haired girl, "Heh, we both went here…but I guess this is a memory before everything bad went down."

Not wishing to see things that would reopen old wounds, Ryan continued out of the room and entered a very long corridor that apparently stretched on forever.

"I wish the others were here, this place is really creepy all alone and stuff…I don't think I've been alone like this in a really long time." Ryan murmured, "Those thoughts from back then…it's certainly not someone I am now and yet I can't deny how easy it would be to send me back to that."

Ryan was really starting to dislike this dream; there were parts of him he never wanted to see again…or to let others see and this was certainly heading towards those.

Finally reaching the end of the hall Ryan headed upstairs and was hit with another old memory, the floor littered in crumbled red paper and disjointed DDR machines strewn about.

"Man, if I wasn't seeing this myself I'd think I'd gone nuts." Ryan joked, picking up one of the sheets of paper and unraveling it, "Of course…it was a February when all that happened, not too long after we graduated and I'd gone on to win my first tournament…"

"How come you didn't come see me compete hon?" Ryan asked the girl sitting opposite him at their table, her long blonde hair obscuring her face.

"…I told you I was busy."

"Yeah, but I wish you could tell me with what silly." Ryan replied, trying to ease the tension.

"Look, just drop it okay."

"Hey, I've got to ask you something: how come you've been cold to me lately? Did I forget something important?"

"You always were a worrywart."

"That's not answering my question…"

"Maybe I just don't want to answer it…maybe I don't even want to be around you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Figure it out; you're supposed to be so smart college boy."

"Are you…are you saying what I think you are?"

"Jeez, you can be so oblivious at times…I'm dumping you doofus!"

"But…but why?"

"Why? You just don't have what I'm looking for in a guy anymore Ryan and I just can't settle anymore."

"Is that what you call what we had? Settling?" Ryan asked back, devastated.

"You just aren't ruthless enough…goodbye."

With that Ryan sat wordlessly, unable to think of any response to stop her; the box he'd hidden under the table fell from his hands along with a red card that simply stated 'Happy Valentine's Day'.

Ryan clutched his chest at reliving this memory, a few tears falling down his face at the hurt he was feeling.

"Damn…I'd forgotten how much that stung." Ryan groaned, realizing how strongly he'd suppressed those memories, "If Sonic hadn't come along when he did…and Yosh…heh, I'm glad I had those two to help me out otherwise I'd probably have been a bigger mess than I am now."

Wondering just what other surprises awaited him in this landscape, Ryan continued on before coming to the third and final floor of the building and seeing a very empty space laid out.

"I get the feeling someone's here, watching, waiting…I don't like it." Ryan thought aloud, "Hmmm, if these dreams are supposed to represent aspects of ourselves then this last floor seems pretty dead on…a vast loneliness tucked away where it can't cause any harm, where it's no longer needed."

Suddenly a bright light shone forth in the center of the area, a certain familiar green haired girl standing on a machine that had always been a central point in his life: DDR 5th Mix.

"Charmy?" Ryan asked, slowly making his way to the machine, "How'd you get here?"

Charmy for her part could only chuckle and smile at Ryan; something about it didn't seem right to him but being in such a lonely place did its part to affect his mind and so he didn't pay any attention to it.

"I found you." Ryan whispered before taking Charmy in his arms and feeling her embrace him.

If only he'd been focusing more, then maybe he'd notice her toothy grin and the dagger in her right hand…

The Dream of Ostentation: GOLD RUSH

"Heh, it's about time I go pay my dear Darkness a visiiiiack!" Jackle attempted to cackle out but tripped all over the capsule's Dark had knocked down earlier, "Oh my non-existent ass…"

"Did you hear that loud crash NiGHTS?" Dark asked, his attention being drawn to the sound, "Hey that looks like…JACKLE!"

"Oh drat, there goes my surprise." Jackle chuckled, standing up and staring at Dark floating in front of his face, "My you've lost some of your height it would seem."

"Still doesn't mean I can't play." Dark shot back, laughing, "I got to say though, you're smile is much creepier at this size."  
"Oh don't worry Visitor, I don't bite…much." Jackle stated, winking at Dark, "So then, shall we play? How about one of your games this time?"

"Hmmm…trying to decide which game would be fair is a bit hard." Dark commented, flying around and finally deciding on a favorite of his, "BEATMANIA IIDX!"

"Ah…a DJ game is it? How delightful." Jackle cackled, cracking his fingers, "I play a mean deck so don't expect this to be easy…in fact."

Winding back his hand and smacking Dark, Jackle effectively broke the dualization process up and sent NiGHTS flying into a dark portal far from where he could help Dark.

"Ack!" Dark shouted, falling and landing on the turntable, "What the hell dude?"

"Now now, I am the enemy after all…plus after some recent promotions I think I'm ready to tangle with you…and maybe even your brother later." Jackle knowingly smiled.

"I thought you looked a little different, that mask is new." Dark groaned, standing up in agony, "How the hell can I hit all seven keys and the turntable now without NiGHTS to help?"

"I don't know Darkness, but if you don't win then I'm afraid things will just get a little more…fun for me if you follow." Jackle laughed, sporting a very creepy smile this time.

"Hmmm…Ah, I know what to do! Dream logic bullshit powers, activate!" Dark shouted, smashing into the Effector button and fiddling with the switches.

"What? What are you doing?" Jackle shouted, confused at his actions.

"I'm leveling the playing field!" Dark shouted before his efforts came to fruition and suddenly instead of one Darkness Shade, there were eight!

"You never cease to amaze me with your cunning; I almost wish we weren't enemies." Jackle stated at the sight, "But Master Wizeman wouldn't like me to consort in such a way so I'm afraid we have to fight."

"BRING IT ON!" Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, Dark, and Dark shouted as they all took their positions, "IT'S PARTY TIME!"

"I don't think you'll mind if I pick the first song." Jackle cackled, spinning the disc and looking through the collection of songs, "So many choices…oh, this one sounds promising."

"The Strong Jaegar Ryusei Remix huh? Not a wise choice Jackle." Dark prime commented, taking point on the turntable, "As the song says, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!"

"Heh, we'll see." Jackle stated, setting his options and hitting start.

The Darks seemed to be a little over their head at first, attempting to play a song as eight miniature versions of yourself would be you think easier since you only have to focus on one note but they found themselves lagging behind.

"Oh come on Darkness, I thought you said I chose poorly." Jackle chuckled, seeing him struggle, "I mean it's just one of me and I'm doing well and taunting you at the same time after all."

"You cocky bastard." Dark laughed, "Come on guys, time to amp it up!"

With that the Dark's took on a creepy purple glow and tapped into their demonic powers and kicked it into overdrive.

"Oh my, what's this? A bit of a challenge makes itself known. I knew you wouldn't disappoint." Jackle grinned, pleased at the outcome.

"ROAR! ALL SYSTEMS GO!" Dark prime shouted as the song picked up and the group of Darks pulled off a lovely storm of Just Greats.

"Wha? I lost? How the heck did that happen?" Jackle questioned, "You couldn't have scored that much at the end…could you?"

"Growl baby, we won't lose to anyone." Dark prime replied, twitching slightly, "Ugh, this is a bit tough…our turn to choose!"

"By all means, I wouldn't want you to think me unfair." Jackle agreed, allowing Dark to spin the disc and chose the next song to battle on.

The Dream of Isolation: MELANCHOLY MIST

Just as Charmy raised the dagger high and planned to plant it into Ryan's back, a strange portal opened up and out flew NiGHTS, who hurled straight towards them.

"What?" Charmy shouted as NiGHTS collided with her and knocked her away, the dagger flying from her hand and scattering onto the floor with a loud clank.

"Ugh…what happened there? NiGHTS?" Ryan asked, before seeing the dagger and Charmy on the ground, "A knife…what the hell is going on here?"

"Oh my, it would seem I've been found out." Charmy shouted, before changing into someone Ryan didn't recognize.

"You're a new face around here." NiGHTS commented, slowly coming to, "Another NiGHTMaReN from Wizeman….lovely."

Ryan looked over this new development, a female, at least he figured she was female, wearing a dress that wrapped around but left quite a bit of midsection exposed, a small star tattoo between her breasts and on her right cheek; with knee-high boots, purple hair in buns, and this strange look in her eyes he knew he'd have to be careful around this one.

"Oh dear, don't like what you see big boy?" the NiGHTMaReN asked, "I'm so hurt, after all I was born from your thoughts, your feelings Ryan. My name is Twahl."

"…" Ryan wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Oh come now dear, where are your manners in introducing yourself to a pretty girl?" Twahl stated, holding out her gloved hand, "Don't I even get a simple kiss?"

"…I think you're confusing me for my brother." Ryan replied, "So I'd imagine you were behind that lovely little memory-go-round I dealt with on the way up here then."

"Oh, did you enjoy that? It's so nice to know someone's weakness." Twahl chuckled, staring seductively at Ryan, "That little lack of trust and sadness, it almost had you till that purple fool showed up."

"Well what now then, are we going to fight?" Ryan asked, watching Twahl sway back and forth seductively.

"Silly boy, why would you want to fight a charming specimen such as myself?" Twahl asked with a haughty laugh, "I have much more in store for you…if you can get out of here."

With that Twahl vanished in a whirl of rose petals, leaving Ryan and NiGHTS alone to sort things out.

"Shit…" Ryan sighed, sitting down and collecting his thoughts.

"You okay?" NiGHTS asked, floating over to him, "You shouldn't let her get to you."

"I know…it's not something I like to remember." Ryan stated, standing up and dusting himself off, "Well, shall we do that dualize thingie?"

"Heh never thought you'd get to that. I just hope it's less insane than dualizing with your brother." NiGHTS joked, high-fiving Ryan.

"Hmm, this feels better." Ryan commented, finally feeling more like his usual self, "So, I don't think this'll be easy; she seemed pretty sure we'd be trapped."

"Well, this place seems pretty isolated so I suppose we should just fly forward and see what we hit then!" NiGHTS shouted with a fist pump.

"Heh, sounds good to me dude, let's go." Ryan agreed, taking flight towards the distant darkness, hoping no more bad memories were in store.

After they left, Reala dropped in a bit worried about this encounter.

"She's being too soft on the boy…she'd better toughen up or he won't be the only one she'll have to deal with." Reala cackled to himself, "I wonder if his memories are affecting that low level garbage…it wouldn't surprise me."

With that, Reala disappeared leaving Twahl to her devices…for the moment.

The Dream of Ostentation: GOLD RUSH

"Huff…huff…huff." Dark panted, having given his all in their final bout, "I won't lose."

"Ugh…invisible finger cramps…but if I won then it'll be worth it." Jackle groaned, "And then I get to have a lot of fun."

As the two combatants tried to steady themselves after their epic little duel, the scores soon came to a head and…

"A TIE?"

"What the hell's a border bonus?" Jackle shouted in confusion, "You tied with that you little cheat."

"Heh, who's cheating Jackle? Remember, in a dream we can do anything we want to." Dark laughed back, "So we tied…what now?"

"Well then, I guess we have a good old fashioned fisticuff throw down!" Jackle shouted, grabbing for Dark prime, who jumped out of the way, "You're pretty nimble aren't you?"  
"Everyone quick! Make like this is Shadow of the Colossus and attack Jackle's glowing weak point!" Dark shouted, jumping on Jackle's hand and running up his arm, "Huh, I guess you do have appendages…."

With that, the other Dark's launched a full out assault on Jackle who clearly had his hands full.

"Ack! Hey you…not there…Oh GOD! Stop, that tickles!" Jackle shouted, twisting and turning trying to reach and fling the different Darks off of him, "Hey now, watch where you're climbing!"

"Why are you blushing?" Dark prime asked from on top of Jackle's head, "This is almost too easy Jackle…"

"Argh! Enough!" Jackle shouted, flinging his arms out and launching all but the original Dark off of him, the clones dissipating when they hit the ground, "Finally, just you and me again."

"And Mark." Dark added, still situated atop Jackle's hat.

"How…how do you know about Mark?" Jackle asked, suddenly very serious.

"Oh Jackle, the question is how do I _not_ know about him." Dark stated with a very creepy grin.

"Oh, wait; I see what you're trying to do." Jackle cackled, "Funny, funny…so then, I think it's time you got what you have coming to you."

With that statement, Jackle grabbed Dark and pulled off his hat.

"Nothing up my sleeves ladies and gentleman." Jackle stated before tossing Dark in his hat.

"Hey, what are you doing…and when's the last time you cleaned this thing?" Dark grumbled from inside the hat.

Ignoring him, Jackle pulled off his Mantle, covered the hat with it and did some very fancy motions with his arms; when he removed his Mantle the hat was still there but Dark was nowhere to be found.

"Ah, I lose more assistants that way; oh well, at least I had fun and in the end, that's all that matters…right Mark?" Jackle cackled before vanishing into the background, "Besides, he's too crazy to quit now…"

The question is what happened to Darkness Shade?

The Dream of Isolation: MELANCHOLY MIST

"I kind of wish I was back in Dark's dream, at least his was much simpler." NiGHTS groaned as he and Ryan made very little headway escaping.

"I can't help it if my mind is complex dude; I'm not the simplest guy." Ryan huffed in annoyance, "Wait…I think I finally see a light ahead."

Heading towards the bright glow, it truly was an exit and with that the two of them were soon back into the foggy realm that blanketed the buildings outside.

"Fog too?" NiGHTS questioned, "What are you trying to hide?"

"Look, there are a lot of things in my past that…affected me to simply put it." Ryan explained, "Even though things are different now they still reside somewhere in my heart…I just never realized how strong they seemed to be."

"Heh, you should know that matters with the heart are never weak darling." Twahl cackled, appearing before the two, "Took you long enough, don't you know you don't ever leave a lady waiting?"

"I think she means herself." Ryan chuckled, "So I guess we have to fight then, don't we?"

"Well, we could…although picking on me with mean old NiGHTS just doesn't seem so fair." Twahl pouted, "Perhaps someone could help me level the playing field?"

"Needing my help already?" Reala cackled, slamming into NiGHTS and knocking Ryan out of him and to the ground, "You really should cease all this foolishness NiGHTS; if you beg enough I'm sure Master Wizeman might find it possible to forgive you."

"Your talk is cheap Reala, so bring it!" NiGHTS shouted, flying off and taking Reala's bait leaving Ryan to fend Twahl off alone.

"Finally, some alone time handsome." Twahl chuckled, inching her way towards Ryan, "I hope you won't be too rough on little old me."

"Jeez…are you really a creation involving my psyche cause that really makes me worried." Ryan shuddered, keeping an eye on her movements.

"Oh come now, you've always waited for that one who likes you for you, your, how did you put it again? Oh yes, your KIND LADY." Twahl stated, seductively grinning at Ryan, "After all your girl troubles, you've got a bit of mistrust built up…a lot of hurt…why don't you let me help ease all those troubles?"

"I somehow doubt the help you want to give me would be beneficial." Ryan shot back, trying to think of what he could do to stop her.

"Oh, you've wounded me honey." Twahl stated, changing into Charmy, "Why would you hurt me like that Ryan?"

"Ugh, I won't fall for your stupid tricks." Ryan spat back as his eyes caught sight of something sticking out of the ground, "Hmmm…"

"Getting some ideas are we, you naughty boy you." Twahl stated, pulling a whip out, "I guess I'll have to get rough then."

Sensing his time was up; Ryan made a mad dash towards the object narrowly being hit by Twahl's whip and pulled it from the ground.

"It's a bit rusty, but I'd recognize this sword from anywhere." Ryan remarked to himself, "I'll have to tell Yosh he came in handy again."

"Ah, that memento; you always were a sentimental guy." Twahl giggled, "I guess that's why you're just so scrumptious."  
"Okay, that was creepy." Ryan shuddered, "Wizeman clearly wasn't thinking straight with you."

"Just show me some love Ryan, let me heal that aching heart of yours!" Twahl shouted, charging at Ryan and wrapping the whip around his sword, "Heh, NiGHTS can't help you…and I don't think you can either."

"Ugh…stop saying things like that with her body." Ryan shouted in frustration, yanking her whip to one side and punching her hard in the face, "Don't defile my Charmster like that!"

"Ow…that hurt." Twahl grumbled, shifting from Charmy back to her true self, "Well then, maybe you'll feel better if I take this form!"

Ryan could only groan in discomfort as Twahl shifted to another girl, her blonde hair obscuring her face.

"That's low Twahl." Ryan seethed at this development.

"All's fair in love and war Ry." Twahl chuckled, "Let's work some of that anger out."

Snapping her fingers, Ryan was caught off guard as four more whips showed up and latched on to him effectively tethering him in place.

"Crap…this isn't good." Ryan groaned, struggling to break free, "If only I had my powers…"

"But you don't silly boy." Twahl dryly remarked, changing back to her true form, "And now I get to the best part."

Ryan could only watch as she sauntered her way over before she was standing face to face with him.

"Mmmmm." Twahl moaned as she pressed herself against Ryan and kissed him deeply, "Finally got you."

"How could this get any worse?" Ryan groaned, "And don't kiss me, I don't know where your mouth's been."

"So tough and yet so fragile underneath." Twahl commented, running her hand under his shirt, "I wonder how much you've left till I break you into pieces."

"Heh, if you were really made to work with my memories and feelings you wouldn't want to do that…" Ryan laughed, finally figuring out a plan, "If anything, it should make you want to help me."

"…heh, trying to get to me? That's cute." Twahl stated, shifting her appearance one last time to someone Ryan didn't quite recognize.

"Who? Who are you?" Ryan asked, a little dazed from Twahl's actions but still hanging in there.

"Why Keydan, I'm hurt you've forgotten me. Why couldn't you save me?" Twahl asked before a look of confusion painted her face, "Who is Keydan?"

"My "other" other self…he must know this girl." Ryan commented, taking this lapse in concentration to break free of the whips and deliver a kick to Twahl's gut, knocking her down to the ground in the process.

"Turns out my memories confuse more than me." Ryan stated, straddling Twahl to keep her from getting up, "Well then…got any more game plans for this date? Or are we done having fun?"

"…" Twahl was speechless as she turned back to her normal self, "I've failed…there's nowhere for me to go now that I couldn't break you."

Ryan raised an eyebrow at this and asked her what she meant.

"Master Wizeman doesn't tolerate failure, especially from a low-level like me." Twahl sighed, "If I go back, I'm toast."

"Shit…now you're making me feel bad." Ryan stated with a sigh, before getting up and helping Twahl to her feet, "I wouldn't worry about the Wize Guy, we'll K.O. him soon enough."

"Why would you help me?" Twahl asked, confused at Ryan's actions, "Why show me mercy?"

"Heh, you should know the answer to that one Twahl." Ryan chuckled, placing a hand over his heart, "This silly thing just can't stand to see a girl sad."

Meanwhile, NiGHTS was busy dodging Reala's massive energy attacks and trying to get back to Ryan but being cut off at every turn.

"Let the couple have their fun, she's been dying to meet him for quite a while." Reala remarked, "So let them have some time alone Mr. Third Wheel."

"Ugh…you're so annoying Reala. You just never give up." NiGHTS groaned, "I swear, those two are so much trouble…"

"Annoyed at a Visitor are we? Now I've seen everything." Reala joked, eager to see NiGHTS sweat, "Shall we continue then or have you had enough?"

Saying nothing, NiGHTS, apparently having had enough of Reala, flew right at him catching him off-guard.

"Hey, what are you? Argh!" Reala shouted in surprise before NiGHTS grabbed him by the legs and began swinging him around violently, "NiGHTS!"

"Sorry Reala, but I've got things to deal with." NiGHTS shouted, letting go and sending Reala flying into a nearby building, "At least you're good at one thing Reala…and that's losing to me!"

"You cocky…" Reala groaned as he tried to lift himself free of the rubble, "Hmmm, I knew she couldn't do it…time to take care of business then."

NiGHTS was unaware of Reala's trickery though, as he was concerned with Ryan's wellbeing; this left him unaware of Reala opening up another one of his portals and making a beeline straight for…

"Ryan…so…what do I do now?" Twahl asked, a little confused by how things turned out, "I mean, aren't I the bad guy?"

"Well…I think you guys are all unfortunate pawns in Wizeman's sick little game." Ryan commented, "All because of these darn Ideya we've got."

"Well then, if you so dislike them then allow me to take them from you!"

"What the? REALA!" Ryan shouted unable to detect the source of his voice.

Too late, Ryan noticed Reala coming at him full force, his clawed fingers aiming straight for him.

NiGHTS, having just got there, saw Reala's plan and couldn't fly fast enough to get to him.

"Ryan!" NiGHTS shouted, unable to do much but watch.

SCHLICK!

Ryan was in shock, barely able to breathe as he blinked and realized he had no hole in his chest; however he still saw blood on his shirt.

"T-Twahl?" Ryan shouted, seeing she had jumped between him and Reala and took her attack, a sizable wound now in her chest.

"Peh, pathetic low-level nightmare; what a waste." Reala grunted, removing his hand and disappearing, "We'll meet again boy…and next time nothing will save you."

Twahl coughed twice before collapsing back into Ryan who caught her and held her up.

"Why? Why did you do that?" Ryan asked, feeling tears well up in his eyes.

"Heh, you should know why handsome." Twahl stated, changing into Charmy, "It's because of girls like her, the ones that love you."

"You idiot…"

"Heh, its okay…it's better this way." Twahl stated, coughing up blood, "At least now…I don't have to worry about Wizeman. Don't let him win…not when she's waiting for you."

"Twahl…I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." Ryan cried, holding her close.

"Silly…I wasn't the one who needed protecting." Twahl stated, putting her hand on his chest, "You were…don't forget me."

With that Twahl gasped before going limp in Ryan's arms, her body slowly disintegrating and merging with the mists before she was gone completely.

"Ryan…" NiGHTS stated, unsure how to comfort his friends.

Ryan could only stare at his hands and shirt, the blood covering them the only physical reminder of Twahl.

Standing up, Ryan stared listlessly into the vastness that was his dream and could do naught but cry.

"It's appropriate this place is called Melancholy Mist NiGHTS because all it does is remind me of that which I could never hold on to; always slipping through my fingers and leaving me completely alone. I never want to revisit these memories again, but I won't ever forget what happened here."

Walking solemnly to the door, Ryan paused a moment before letting all the rage and anger boil up as he shouted as loud as he could.

"REALA! I will not let you get away with this! You and Wizeman will never know what hit you…" Ryan growled before sighing, "Come on NiGHTS, let's go see if Dark's doing any better than I am…"

And with that, Ryan closed the door; once again putting away the memories of his life he no longer needed.

Gate of Your Dreams

"He doesn't seem to be here, could he be in his dream?" Ryan asked NiGHTS, seeing no sign of Dark anywhere.

"Oh I'm sure he'll drop in when we least expect him." NiGHTS chuckled before they both heard a loud screaming sound.

"Oh GOD!" Dark shouted before crashing into the fountain, water splashing everywhere.

"I think you should watch what you say from now on." Ryan commented, heading over and helping his brother out of the water, "What happened?"

"Well, I was in an arcade and then I was small and NiGHTS was in a capsule machine and Jackle was huge and we played IIDX and then we fought and then he tossed me in his hat and I ended up back here." Dark explained, "That fall could've hurt more if the water wasn't there."

Ryan merely nodded in reply and still seemed out of it.

"What happened dude?" Dark asked sensing something was amiss.

"…I'll tell you later, you should probably finish up your dream and get our Ideya back." Ryan commented, "I'll be okay here."

"He had a rough time." NiGHTS whispered to Dark, "Just give him some time…come on, let's head back to GOLD RUSH."

Nodding, Dark followed NiGHTS back through the door leaving Ryan sitting quietly by the fountain, staring into the starry sky surrounding them.

"Huh? Heh, guess I did get one back from all that." Ryan stated, noting a faint yellow glow had joined the red, white, and blue ones on his hand, "Twahl…"

As if sensing his mood, the sky rumbled slightly before a strange thing occurred: it started to snow.

"Snow, huh? Heh…haven't seen this in a long time." Ryan chuckled before hearing a noise, "Who's there?"

"It's just me Visitor." Owl stated, flapping over to Ryan, "I'm glad to see you okay; I take it your brother is well also?"

"Yeah…"

"You seem bothered by something, Ryan was it?" Owl asked, "What happened?"

"…"

"Oh, you managed to retrieve your Ideya of Hope." Owl remarked, trying to ease the tension.

"Yeah, she must've helped with that." Ryan commented, holding his hand to his chest.

Owl, noting his distress, tried thinking of something to help and so pulled out the lollipop Dark had given him.

"Now how did it go again? Ah yes! One, Two, Three!" Owl stated before biting the lollipop, "Three!"

Despite his mood, Ryan couldn't help but chuckle at this odd showing of humor from Owl…

The Dream of Ostentation: GOLD RUSH

"Ah, it's so nice to be here normal size." Dark growled, striking a pose, "Though I did make a mess earlier it would seem."

"Eh, I wouldn't worry about it that much." NiGHTS replied, "These things tend to happen in dreams."

"I guess I'll take your word for it…hey, do you hear something other than the BGM playing?" Dark asked, his hearing picking up a faint song.

"Hmmm, someone must be playing one of the games here, but who?" NiGHTS questioned, a bit perplexed at this, "It might be a NiGHTMaReN so be careful…"

"Ah, I take it Ryan ran into one then…that would explain a little bit about his mood." Dark commented, "Well, let's track that song down!"

Winding through the large maze of games that was his dream, the duo of Dark and NiGHTS soon found themselves face to face with the source: a strangely dressed man was playing on a DDR EXTREME machine.

"I don't recognize him." NiGHTS stated, "Do you know him Dark?"

"He looks like Legend, a character from the "Legend of Max" background and the "PARANOiA Survivor MAX" video…but what would he be doing here?" Dark asked in confusion, "I guess I'll go ask."

As Dark approached, Legend noted him coming near and turned around, not saying a word and merely staring at him.

"So what brings you here?" Dark asked, noting a creepy vibe coming off of Legend, "Shouldn't you be in my brother's deck?"

Legend spoke no words and motioned towards the machine as if he wished to face off against Dark.

"Heh, playing against me?" Dark chuckled, "Well then, far be it for me to turn down such a request…but you asked for it!"

Hoping on the machine, Dark allowed Legend to choose the song and then they were off, a blur of feet and legs as each tried to top the other.

Legend however was the first to begin feeling the lag and when Dark started taking the lead he finally had had enough.

"What the hell?" Dark growled as he felt a wave of energy pulse from Legend and start distorting the arcade, "Shit, its dualizing time Nights!"

"Like we practiced! Hup!" NiGHTS shouted, fist-bumping and hip checking Dark, "DUALIZE!"

"Heh, that was more fun, guess I was right." Dark chuckled as the two of them watched Legend take off down the swirling vortex with no visible pathway.

"How do we chase him down?" NiGHTS asked, "He seems to have us pretty well stuck."

Looking about for any option he could, Darkness noted the DDR arrows were strewn about and he got an amazing idea.

"Follow my lead!" Dark shouted, twisting and dodging Legend's attacks as he firmly planted his feet across the arrows, "Just got…to follow…the beat!"

Legend, clearly upset at this development, pulled out two long chains of Freeze Arrows and began trying to whip some sense into Dark.

"Ugh, hey, that's not fair." Dark stated, doing a nearly impossible spin and bouncing upside down along a pair of jumps, narrowly avoiding his attacks, "Why's he using Neomax's attack anyway?"

"What are you talking about?" NiGHTS asked in confusion, "I swear just when I think I've figure the two of you out you go even crazier on me…"

"Doesn't matter right now NiGHTS, I think we've got him!" Dark shouted, planting on a long freeze and launching himself right at Legend, "The Fly!"

With that stupid reference, Dark firmly planted his foot upside Legend's face and knocked him back, sending him reeling and toning down the chaos for now.

"Ugh, and I thought I was c-crazy…that h-hurt!" Legend finally spoke, changing his form to what looked like Dark but…more demonic and unrefined, "Maybe d-dealing with yourself will be m-more your s-speed."

"Dark, what the hell is that?" NiGHTS asked a little unsettled at the sight he saw.

"That's what I worry about…what I worry people might one day see me as." Dark growled in annoyance, "Heh, you're making it easy to conquer my fears here who ever you are."

"Well t-then, if it's so e-easy, b-bring it!" the mysterious man cackled, charging right at Dark with his claws fully extended.

"This guy has one heck of a nervous tick." NiGHTS commented, slightly bothered by his speech impediment.

Dark merely rolled his eyes and gracefully spun, dodging the attack and kneeing his attacker in the gut.

"I've had a lot of time dealing with that demonic half of mine; you clearly have no idea how to handle any of that." Dark commented, hoping this nonsense would end soon.

"We'll s-see about t-that!" the man exclaimed before throwing his arms out and sending the arcade into a state of disarray, ruining it forever.

"NO! THE ARCADE! Oh it was so flashy and awesome! Why would you do such a thing?" Dark asked, crying foul and shaking his hands.

"E-easy, because it w-would get t-to you."

Taking the moment to attack, Dark wasn't prepared and was hit hard causing NiGHTS and him to break apart; the result left NiGHTS unconscious and Dark on his own.

"Come back Octapaw, I'll be gentle this time I swear…" NiGHTS groaned before passing out.

"What the hell was that about? And why a cephalopod?" Dark growled in confusion, "Ugh…just ask him later I guess…"

"What w-was that a-about b-being easy?"

Dark huffed and growled at this development, just who was he fighting?

"G-guess it's t-time to e-end this for M-master Wizeman!"

Dark raised his arms up to defend himself as the man went in for the final blow…

"I don't think so baby!"

With that exclamation two huge playing cards flew in and smacked the man back hard, causing him to change into yet another form.

"Huh? I'm not dead…" Dark stated in shock before seeing a familiar Mantle in front of him, "JACKLE?"

"Heh, I guess I have to step in sooner than I thought; either way I'm tired of waiting to take action." Jackle cackled, "I didn't expect Tournture to give you such a thrashing; that love of arcades really got to you."

"Heh, so what Mr. Cape man, if someone messed with that thing you'd be all upset too." Dark shot back with a laugh, "So who's the creepy guy in the straight-jacket and chains?"

Standing up, the NiGHTMaReN known as Tournture had the creepiest of smiles on his faces seeing this turn of events.

"So y-you finally m-make y-your move? Master w-was r-right all along." Tournture cackled with a twitchy laugh.

"Dude, I think that guys jacket is way too tight…is it sewn to his head?" Dark gasped in disbelief, "Damn, he makes you look sane dude."

"Wizeman tried to make something that would capitalize on your unbridled randomness…too bad he didn't realize there was some sense in that chaos." Jackle explained, "So all you have left is someone that is completely and utterly insane."

"Shit, that's pretty bad with you saying that…still, being bound and restrained…sort of reminds me of a few issues I have." Dark stated, looking at his clawed hands, "Nobody's perfect…"

"If you t-two are q-quite finished…" Tournture growled, "I'd l-like to get t-this fight on; e-even if you've s-seen through m-my trickery, you're s-still going down."

Unlatching the chains from his boots, Tournture flicked them up and readied them just behind his head as he prepared to attack.

"This may sound crazy, but with NiGHTS out of it, I think we've no choice." Jackle stated, looking over his shoulder at Dark, "Let's dualize!"

"Uh, what?" Dark asked a little uneasy at that, "Is that a wise idea? I mean, you know what kind of people we are so merging…can you even do that?"

"Of course, all 1st-level's can…I'm rather lucky I got promoted or my plan may never have worked out." Jackle answered quickly, their window of time quickly running out, "I'll explain later now come on!"

"Jeez, no need to be so pushy dude!" Dark shouted high-fiving Jackle, "Dualize?"

In a quick flash of light, Dark and Jackle managed to dualize and Dark was feeling a little strange.

"This…is odd. I feel like Rayman." Dark joked, moving his floating appendages about, "I mean I know the arms are there but not seeing them is odd."

"Focus Dark, we can joke around later after Tournture's put to pasture." Jackle chided, "I think you know what to do, so let's go!"

"Yo yo yo yo, it's the invisible man hot damn!" Dark started rapping, pulling out some playing cards, "Jackle, mad Mantle, ready to jam!"

"P-peh, you can't i-intimidate me." Tournture spat back, winding up and letting loose with his chains.

Merely laughing, Dark spun around and deflected the chains with his Mantle before letting loose the cards in his right hand.

"Ugh!" Tournture groaned as the cards glanced his head, leaving a nice slice wound on his right cheek, "How d-dare you mess w-with me?"

Dark's grin, which when filtered through Jackle's becomes much more unsettling but also much more awesome, was all that was needed as he started bobbing his head to the beat.

"The funk is so hard, it's taken over you. Ol' Jack is now controlling you." Dark cackled, summoning two large tarot cards at his sides.

"Nobody can control me!" Tournture shouted in a blind fury, stretching out his chains and spinning around, creating a tornado of destruction that began sucking up anything in sight and flinging it at our, uh, heroes I suppose.

"I think you're really getting to him." Jackle stated with a grin, "I can't remember the last time I had such fun!"

"It's not over yet Jackle." Dark stated, spinning the cards around his body and charging towards Tournture.

Using the cards as a shield, Dark managed to grab hold of one of Tournture's chains and began spinning him around and around, disrupting his attack and making him very upset.

"ARGH!" Tournture practically foamed at the mouth in annoyance, "You're pissing me off."

Letting him go, Dark watched as Tournture hit the ground hard and left a sizable crater.

"Death never looked so vibrant, tall like a tyrant…" Dark picked up where he left off, summoning a cavalcade of cards, "…but colored in violent oranges, yellows, and reds!"

"I have had enough of this!" Tournture stated, all sanity he may have had now completely blown away, "Stop mocking me!"

Charging recklessly at Dark and Jackle, Tournture was blind to the attack now heading his way.

"Looks like your fortune just came up, bad future!" Dark shouted, bringing his hands together and burying Tournture in an avalanche of cards from which there was no escape.

"No! Nononononononono!" Tournture screamed as his body was torn apart by the calculated nonsense of Dark and Jackle.

"No one can beat our crazy." Jackle chuckled maniacally as Tournture disappeared from sight.

"Everybody just bounce tonight, man, come on!" Dark shouted as he split from Jackle, a grin on his face at how fun that had been, "Damn Jackle, we might have to team up again if it's always going to be that fun."

"That sounds like it would be an excellent idea!" Jackle replied with a grin, "Perhaps we should leave now…if we can find the door."

"You won't be going anywhere traitor!"

"Eh?" Jackle asked before feeling something amiss, "Reala?"

"So nice to see how you repay Master Wizeman's promotion of you." Reala whispered in his ear, his hand sticking out of Jackle's invisible chest.

"Jackle!" Dark shouted, seeing blood pour from his wound, "You asshole!"

Dark charged at Reala but was too slow as Reala pulled back, his mission accomplished for now as he vanished.

"Eh…looks like the jokes on me for once." Jackle cackled, his hand holding his chest as he collapsed.

"Dammit! Jackle!" Dark shouted, trying to stop the bleeding with something, anything he could find, "Hold on dude!"

"Heh…I don't think I'm going to make it this time." Jackle groaned with a grin still on his face, "I know you can stop him, ever since that day…"

"Those cards…what was that all about?" Dark asked, hoping this was all some bad dream.

"It was a prediction…you and your brother…toppling Wizeman's corruption…freeing not only Nightopia…but us." Jackle gasped before coughing, "You can do it Dark, you're too crazy not to succeed…and trust me, I know crazy."

"Jackle…this isn't the end. We'll get to finish our game of Go Fish one day." Dark stated, seeing Jackle begin to fade away.

"Heh…the Mantle…never dies baby!" Jackle cackled one last time before he disappeared, leaving only his mask behind.

"Jackle…" Dark softly stated with a sigh, seeing the mask glow and form a keychain, "Heh, the Mantle never dies!"

Acquiring the Mad Mantle Keysaber, Dark sat silently waiting for NiGHTS to finally come to.

When he finally did, Dark filled in what happened while he was unconscious and, having found the door, left behind the ruins of what was once a cool dream.

Gate of Your Dreams

Ryan heard a door opening and, as expected, out came Dark and NiGHTS yet he could tell something was off...

One explanation later, Ryan was caught up on all that had transpired and was quite miffed.

"Damn that Reala…he's going to pay this time." Ryan commented, anger coursing through his veins.

"At least you have all your Ideya back again." Owl commented, "That's some good news."

"He's right, now you've recollected all that was you." NiGHTS added, "…strange though, this is usual when that windbag and his puppet tend to show up."

"Ah, the whole let everyone do the work then finally handle things yourself move." Dark deduced, "Let's see him try to take us down though! I won't let Jackle down!"

As the group sat and chatted, ominous storm clouds made themselves present and the sky itself seem agitated.

"I should have done this from the beginning; you two have proven to be more trouble than I expected despite having disarmed you."

"WIZEMAN!" NiGHTS shouted, looking for the source of his voice and getting grabbed by a giant hand, "ACK!"

"NiGHTS!" Ryan shouted, trying to analyze the situation "Is that Wizeman?"

"Um, I think that huge guy over there is Ry." Dark noted, pointing to the sky at a rather imposing figure, "With six hands it makes you wonder why he just can't hold all these Ideyas."

"Silence!" Reala shouted, flying by and knocking the two of them to the ground, "I won't tolerate your disrespect anymore."

"You asshole! I was hoping you'd show up again!" Ryan shouted, charging headlong at Reala only to whiff and go tumbling to the ground, "If only I had my powers, then we'd see how cocky you'd be."

Reala merely chuckled at such a silly notion and leered at the two of them.

"I think you're in no position to be doing anything boy." Reala spat back, diving down and grabbing hold of him, "If you really want to test me then come on!"

Continuing his hold of Ryan, Reala dragged him over to the edge of the Dream Gate and tossed him over watching his body sink into the cloud before chasing after him.

"Ryan!" Dark shouted, unsure what to do now, "Dammit…"

"Peh…human or not I will have your energy soon enough; one of you will do for now." Wizeman cackled before disappearing into the depths as well leaving Dark alone with Owl.

"Well that went well." Dark growled, thinking over his options, "I'm not going to give up that easily Wizeman…too many people are counting on me."

"What are you going to do Visitor?" Owl asked, watching him curiously.

Holding his hand to his chest, Dark could see and feel the vibrant energy of his Ideya resonating and it was then he knew what he had to do.

"Sorry Owl, but I can't just leave them hanging…I'll be back with them soon!" Dark shouted before running to the edge and jumping down into the inky darkness below, "In the nights baby!"

"Good luck Visitor…"

The Unconscious Space: LATITUDE 30

"Ugh…my head…where did I end up?" Dark groaned, coming to his feet and seeing NiGHTS chained up nearby, "NiGHTS!"

Running over to him, Dark was unaware of Wizeman's ever-present gaze until…

"Dark? DARK! Look out! It's a trap!" NiGHTS warned but it was too late as Dark felt an intense pressure surround him.

"Peh, foolishly rushing to your demise…you're just as foolish as the humans you wish to belong with." Wizeman growled before swatting Dark backwards into an abyss.

'So this is how it ends then…' Dark stated as he fell, 'I can't believe it ends this way…'

'No…I can't give up…I can't let him win…'

Holding his hand to his chest, Dark felt his Ideya resonate deep inside himself and knew this wasn't the ending in mind.

"Ryan…Twahl…NiGHTS…Jackle! This isn't how this story ends!" Dark shouted fiercely as he felt like his old self again, "This is our dream Wizeman! OURS! And you will not have any of it!"

Spreading his wings wide and pulling himself out of his dive, Dark pulled back up striking a fierce pose.

"I am Darkness Shade and you just pissed off the wrong fucking half-demon!" Dark growled in frustration, "BRING IT ON!"

With that Dark took off towards NiGHTS location in a flurry of speed, noting that he had a little complication now in the form of some type of goofy-looking bird.

"What the hell is that?" Dark growled in confusion before noting its rider had a key, "Hey! I bet I need that! Come back here!"

Seeing the determination in Dark's eyes, the bird's rider took off leaving Dark to chase after him.

Meanwhile, in another section of town, Ryan was finally coming to after his unexpected flight and saw Reala standing nearby.

"So boy, you want a fight with me again? I'm not sure it'll end as well as it did last time." Reala cackled, pointing menacingly at Ryan.

"Heh, just because I'm powerless doesn't mean I'm weak! I'm going to make you pay for what you did to Twahl and Jackle!" Ryan shouted, feeling his Ideya give him strength, "Let's rumble!"

"Heh, show me what you've got Visitor."

With that Ryan flew headlong into his attempts to avenge his fallen allies but was clearly outpaced, especially since Reala could fly and, at the moment, Ryan could not.

"Are you all talk? Or maybe I just haven't pushed you hard enough?" Reala spat condescendingly, "Maybe this will do it!"

With that, Reala summoned forth numerous energy balls that surrounded Ryan's position.

"Shit…" Ryan gasped at his predicament, trying to find an out, "There must be something I can do!"

"Heh, the only thing you'll be doing Ryan is losing, and then your Ideya will be mine!" Reala shouted in glee, launching his attack at the defenseless Ryan.

'Everyone…I'm so sorry…I was too weak again…Twahl…Dark…Jackle…and NiGHTS, I let you all down.' Ryan thought silently as he closed his eyes.

"Always giving up too easy…I don't think she's expecting that silly."

"Twahl…?" Ryan asked opening his eyes and feeling a surge of energy run through him, "Dark? Of course…this is our dream…and no one can take that from me."

Reala cackled in utter delight as the energy collided with Ryan's location and eagerly awaited the aftermath…except, it didn't all go as planned.

"What the heck?" Reala asked in utter confusion, his energy slowly being pushed back.

"What's the matter Reala? Not used to someone that can hold his own? Better yet not used to someone older that can see through your intimidation?" Ryan questioned, feeling his Ideya give him strength, "That look of fear…how often have you seen it on others and now you yourself sport it?"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Reala shouted, summoning forth more energy to silence Ryan's taunts, "I am Master Wizeman's top NiGHTMaReN and I won't allow some pathetic boy to defeat me!"

"Then we have a problem here Reala." Ryan shot back, summoning forth his Keysaber and exploding forth from the energy, "I'm no boy! I'm a man!"

In all his rage, Reala never expected such a move and could only look in horror as Ryan close in on him.

"This is for every life you've ever ruined, every dream you've destroyed, and for everyone you've hurt as a foolish puppet!" Ryan screamed, his Ideya flooding his Keysaber with strength, "Dream Crush!"

With a single swipe and an almost deafening silence, the two combatants landed but only one of them was in good shape.

"This is…how could you possibly be so strong?" Reala gasped, seeing himself fade away, "I've never been defeated by one of you…how…ACK!"

"Don't feel too bad Reala…Wizeman will be joining you all too soon; you should've never messed with our dreams because all you've gotten yourself is nightmares." Ryan calmly stated as he watched Reala disappear for good, "Twahl…Jackle…soon you can rest easy."

Sensing Dark was near, Ryan quickly headed for his position that seemed to be nearing a familiar building…

"Holy shit! What was that lightshow? What that Ryan and Reala?" Dark asked, chasing after what appeared to be the last of these goofy birds, "I don't have time for this; get back here!"

Meanwhile Ryan had quickly closed in on Dark's position and saw him chasing…something…in the distance.

"Yo, Dark!" Ryan shouted, "What's with the bird?"

"Help me stop it and I'll fill you in!" Dark shouted, readying his Keysaber, "Three! Two! One! Now!"

Nodding, Ryan tossed his Keysaber towards Dark and vice versa, the two of them grabbing the others weapon and dashing towards the bird.

The bird and its poor rider didn't know what hit it as Ryan and Dark caught it in a crossover attack, permanently freeing the key from its grasp.

"Finally, that's all of them! Let's go save NiGHTS!" Dark shouted, heading back to the central building with Ryan in tow.

Arriving there, they quickly freed their friend and went about seeing if he was okay.

"Ugh…hey, you guys…what did I miss?" NiGHTS chuckled seeing the two of them okay, "Sorry I couldn't help."

"It's okay…I think we managed to find our own way." Ryan replied, showing off the glow on his hand, "Also…Reala won't be a problem anymore."

Looking down the long pit nearby, Ryan could sense a terrible evil within.

"He's down there, isn't he?" Ryan asked, turning to NiGHTS for an answer.

"That's right…Wizeman's waiting for us…wait…what's that?" NiGHTS asked, pointing at a strange pink thing floating through the sky.

"It appears to be a cephalopod of some kind." Ryan remarked, unsure why it'd be in their dream.

"Wait…a cephalopod?" Dark asked, connecting the dots, "NiGHTS, no!"

It was too late, however, as NiGHTS had already begun chasing the creature, shouting something about Octapaw over and over again…along with some other unsettling comments.

"Dammit dude, we don't have the time for him to waste chasing after some overblown mollusk." Ryan groaned, "Well, I guess we'll just have to face him ourselves."

"Heh, wouldn't rumble with anyone else bro." Dark replied with his trademark grin, "NiGHTS, if you feel like not being silly we'll be fighting Wizeman now, okay?"

With that, the two of them jumped into the depths, ready to end this madness that had consume their dreams for too long.

D'Force Master

"This place seems far too calm for what's about to happen." Ryan grumbled, "Show yourself Wizeman, we know you're here!"

"Come on and fight! You're all that's left between us and peaceful dreams!" Dark added, itching to take him down.

"I see that Reala was just as useless as those other cretins." Wizeman groaned, appearing before our heroes, "I truly have underestimated just how annoying you are; however, once I get your Ideya it will be of little concern."

"Heh, listen to this guy thinking he's already won." Ryan joked, "He's worse than some of the villains in reality we deal with."

"You dare mock me?"

"No, mocking you is this." Dark growled, mooning Wizeman and smacking his bottom, "Kiss it you overgrown sundial!"

"Your insolence proves most irritating; I shall enjoy this more than I should." Wizeman groaned, getting ready for his assault, "I'll show you the power of a God."

"Hmmm…I think we might need something a little stronger for this Dark." Ryan suggested, "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hell yeah…let's do this thing!" Dark shouted, striking the pose, "Fusion! Wapoh!"

"What? Where did those two go? Who are you?" Wizeman asked, now seeing a single person in front of him.

"I am neither Ryan nor Dark; I am the one that will destroy you!" Kouki stated, "I am the hope of the universe, the one to respond to those that cry out in fear! I am Kurayami Kouki and I am the defender of Dreams!"

"This turn of events is indeed unexpected. I would not have expected you two to be capable of dualizing with one another, but no matter; now receive my judgment." Wizeman bellowed, swishing reality with his hands and changing the scenery.

"How'd we get into deep space?" Kouki asked, noting he could still breathe, "This place is pretty TRiPPY."

Taking a moment to turn to the reader, Kouki gave a wink and a smile before returning to the fight at hand.

"Sink into darkness." Wizeman cackled launching energy blasts at our heroes as they attempted to negotiate the starry maze.

"Damn…that was close." Kouki groaned, "We've got to motor to get to him!"

Dodging more blasts Kouki eventually made his way to Wizeman only to discover…

"A shield? Like that could stop us!" Kouki shouted, pulling out his Keysaber and laying into it.

Finally, Kouki pushed his way through and knocked Wizeman for a loop, the groan a sign that damage had been done.

"Heh, want some more Wize Guy?" Kouki asked, striking a pose.

"I will banish you." Wizeman bellowed, adjusting reality again on our heroes.

"What's with all the rocks?" Kouki grumbled, making his way towards Wizeman only to bump into a clone, "Okay, that was unpleasant…let's try to avoid those."

Unfortunately, in a comic manner, Kouki seemed incapable of avoiding too many of those and when he did, the bright red rocks exploding in his face didn't help much.

"Enough already!" Kouki roared, flaring his aura, "This is getting on my nerves."

"Did you really think you could withstand my power?" Wizeman questioned, clearly amused at his frustration.

"Enough!" Kouki growled, tossing his Keysabers at the clones and clearing a path, "Here comes hit number two Wizeman!"

Charging up and plowing headlong into him, Kouki landed another blow on Wizeman and damaging him further.

Stating nothing, Wizeman gave a large swipe of his hands altering reality one more time.

'Oh crap, water…and this time we can't seem to breathe.' Kouki thought, quickly making his way towards Wizeman but making no headway.

"Perish." Wizeman howled, sending a torrent of whirlpool their direction.

'Dammit…we're stuck.' Kouki groaned, hearing a familiar chiming sound in his mind, 'Great, one more and we're drowning.'

Struggling to break free and attack but making no headway, Kouki wondered if this was the end.

Then, just as all hope seemed lost two large tarot cards came tearing through and destroyed all the whirlpools.

'Jackle?' Kouki idly thought realizing he now had a free shot at Wizeman.

"The Mantle never dies!"

"What trickery is this? How could mere humans defeat me?" Wizeman shouted shock at this turn of events.

"Easy! With Hope to guide us, Purity to keep us focused, Intelligence to aid us, our Growth through our memories, and the Courage to stand up to it all you never had a chance you Ideya-less loser!" Kouki shouted, focusing the strength of his Ideya, "Ideya Incineration!"

"What? Noooooooooooooooo!" Wizeman shouted as the full-force of Nightopia seemed to bear down upon him, knocking him for a loop and finishing this nightmare once and for all.

Splitting apart and watching Wizeman going to pieces, Dark and Ryan high-fived one another and listened to his parting words.

"You may have defeated me now, but mark my words; as long as darkness exists in the hearts of humans then I, and the nightmares, shall never truly be destroyed." Wizeman warned.

"Quit it with your sour grapes and vanish Wizeman." Dark growled.

"Besides, if that happens then we'll just have to come back and kick your butt again, count on it!" Ryan responded as the last bits of Wizeman vanished from sight, "Well then, now what happens?"

At this time NiGHTS finally decided to rejoin the two of them and was pretty shocked at what he'd missed.

"Wow! You two really are something else aren't you?" NiGHTS stated, holding his hat down.

"Um…what's wrong with your hat?" Dark asked, noting something pink poking out of it, "NiGHTS…?"

"Pay no attention to the Octapaw beneath the curtain…er, I mean hat." NiGHTS stated in a panic, "Wow, could I use a distraction right now…"

As if in answer to him, NiGHTS noted he was beginning to fade away as was all of Nightopia which left Ryan and Dark puzzled.

"That'll do. Well, I guess this is goodbye…" NiGHTS softly stated, "It's been…different though I certainly wouldn't mind doing it again."

"Heh, I guess I should take that as a compliment." Ryan replied with a laugh, "So with Wizeman gone anything of his is going huh? Well, at least Jackle and Twahl can be at peace now."

"This sucks though…from what I can tell this is it." Dark growled in disappointment, "I actually enjoyed some of this…especially Dualizing with Jackle."

Seeing the bright light start to consume them, Dark and Ryan lost sight of NiGHTS and were soon on their way back to where they belonged.

"Don't worry…as long as you hold those dreams in your heart you'll always be able to see us…farewell Visitors."

Outlaw Star: 5:30 AM

Ryan moaned and groaned in his bed before slowly coming to, his body feeling as if it'd run a marathon.

"Ugh…what a dream…it was more than that though." Ryan stated, sitting up in bed and seeing a small box sitting on his nightstand, "What's this?"

Opening it up, Ryan was surprised to see it was a music box that produced a haunting melody that soon filled his room.

"Twahl…" Ryan softly spoke as he watched the figurine in the middle spin with the music, "I knew it was real…"

Holding on to the music box, Ryan walked towards the common room to see none other than Darkness Shade sitting there already, his gaze looking out towards the infinite dark of space.

"It's really over now, isn't it?" Ryan asked him, sitting down and following his gaze, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Sure you have enough of them for that?" Dark joked before looking serious again, "I feel happy but…there's this feeling eating at me."

"I wouldn't worry about them. NiGHTS said that they'll exist as long as we dream." Ryan remarked.

"Heh, I guess you're right, and he wouldn't lie to us. Hopefully he told Owl we're okay, wouldn't want him to have a panic attack fretting about the two of us." Dark chuckled, imagining Owl all flustered, "He'd lose too many feathers if he did that."

Staring at the music box, Ryan had a contemplative look on his face as if he had a question his heart wasn't sure it wanted to ask.

"Dark…do _you_ think we'll see them again?" Ryan asked, seeing what he thought of it.

"Heh…I don't think they'd go down that easy." Dark remarked, looking over his new Keysaber, "We all have to Dream Dreams after all, and in mine I can seem them smiling there."

"I think you're right Dark, well, let's get back to bed then; who knows what we'll have to deal with next?" Ryan asked, getting up and heading back to his room.

As Dark went to stand up, he swore he saw something outside the ship but merely blamed it on being tired.

'I could've sworn that was Jackle…guess I'm still tired.' Dark thought to himself, laughing at his goofiness as he returned to sleep.

If Dark had only taken a better glance he would've seen quite the sight as three familiar NiGHTMaReN had taken a stance atop the Outlaw Star: one striking a familiar pose playing his invisible flute, the other giving a soft smile and a seductive wink, and the last with his mantle spread wide and cards flying from his hands.

"Like I said, the Mantle never dies baby!"


	15. CC Corps: FETCH THIS!

**DDR HEARTS 2: CC Corps.: FETCH THIS!**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

The Outlaw Star

"It's been rather quiet lately in terms of the Organization; I feel they may strike soon." Yoshino stated to the group as they prepared for their next world.

"Well then, we'll just have to stay on guard then." Dark replied with a grin, "So Alia, any info on this world?"

"Just that there appears to be nothing but floating islands dotting the skies and that it's all a part of the Shepherd's Republic." Alia explained, looking over the data on the console, "Those islands are your best bet, I'm getting a signal from one of them so I'll send you there to begin with."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Ryan commented, heading over to the teleporter, "Time to have some fun."

"Why do I have a bad feeling about all this?" Reps questioned before the foursome of heroes was beamed down to the surface.

Strange Caves?

"Huh, underground again eh?" Ryan groaned, "This never turns out well for us."

"Oh, quite complaining and let's get moving." Dark growled, "I sense something off about this place…and I think I see what it is."

In the distance Dark pointed at what seemed to be a medium-sized Nobody digging through the dirt; upon seeing our heroes it twitched some before taking off deeper into the tunnels.

"Well, guess the Organization is here." Yoshino stated, pulling out his Keysaber, "Time to dust this sucker!"

"Well, if we can catch him." Reps replied as the group dashed after him and attempted to catch up.

After what seemed like endless chasing through a labyrinth of passageways, our heroes managed to corner the Nobody which turned out to be a giant mole of sorts.

"I suppose we should be lucky this guy didn't cause any kind of cave-ins." Reps remarked, "This place doesn't appear to be all that stable."

"Must be some old mines or something." Ryan added as he readied his Keysaber, "Let's take this guy down."

"Heh, finally I get to see just how much your practice has paid off." Yoshino chuckled, "Hopefully you don't disappoint."

"Jeez, you act as if we've been slacking off." Dark sighed before grinning, "How about I show you how much stronger we are?"

Jumping headlong at the enemy, Dark started smacking it silly before it disappeared underground.

"I think you broke it Dark." Ryan groaned, "Next time leave some for the rest of us."

"Well you know me…" Dark remarked before the ground began to shake, "What the heck?"

"It must be the Nobody; he's trying to cause a cave-in." Yoshino explained, dodging some falling rocks, "Reps! Look out!"

"Huh?" Reps asked before noting a large rock coming his way, "Oh Crap!"

Activating his thrusters, Reps made like Indiana Jones and started hauling ass down a tunnel, the rock coming ever closer.

"Gotta…get…away…this sucks!" Reps moaned as he just barely made it to the entrance as the rock sealed him away from the others.

"Reps!" Ryan shouted, pounding at the rock and not getting it to budge, "Jeez, what is this thing made of?"

"I guess we'll just have to find another way around." Yosh deduced, "Reps, if you can hear us, we'll look for another way to you."

Not hearing a response, the group figured their best bet was to continue on and hope they could find their comrade.

Meanwhile, in another section of the mine another trio was dealing with the tremors in their own way.

"Dude, we might be in a bit of trouble here."

"Calua, you once again understate our situation."

"Ah, don't be so tough on him Gren; it's not his fault we're trapped down here looking for that strange monster."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Red dude!" Calua remarked, "I just wish we weren't cut off from our mechs."

"We'll find a way back to them, right now we should focus on finding a way out of this situation." Gren replied, analyzing their options, "It would seem that way is the only one we can go for now."

"Guess that means we'd best get started." Red stated with a sigh, "Come on."

As this trio made their way ever further in the mines, our trio soon found their way to another tunnel and walked…and walked…and walked for what seemed forever!

"Jeez, this thing goes on forever dude!" Ryan groaned, looking around, "And now I'm hearing things."

"You always did have a low tolerance for certain things." Yoshino shot back, "And I think you are hearing things, it's just us down here."

"Heh, typical Yosh." Dark chuckled before groaning, "Still, this is getting a little crazy."

As the group walked on, they passed an opening and suddenly came to a standstill.

Turning to their right they saw something that was what they believed to be their reflection but…something was amiss.

As Yosh stared down his reflection, Ryan was making a multitude of motions, and Dark merely looked puzzled for quite a while until…

"My God! It's like some furry mirror!" Dark shouted, causing the reflections to jump in shock.

"It talked!" Red gasped in surprise, "Wait…this isn't a mirror…"

"Huh, I wondered when I suddenly grew ears and a tail…and I didn't think my hair was that wild." Ryan commented looking at Calua, "Well, maybe when I wake up but still…"

"…"

"…"

"What's with Yoshino?" Dark asked, still eyeing Red cautiously.

"Your buddy there is acting a might bit like Gren, dude!" Calua commented, still a little in shock.

"Oh, I think he's just staring down his counterpart…it figures his would be a Japanese dog." Ryan sighed before laughing, "Well at least we found someone else alive down here…"

"So, I guess I have to say it dude but, uh, you guys look a bit odd." Calua commented, pointing at our heroes, "You two only have fur on your head and that guy only has a tail and…wings? DUDE! Are you like some new type of Felineko or something?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Gren stated breaking his silence, "Look at their features…haven't we seen this before?"

"You know, now that you mention it they look like me when I Trance out." Red stated, putting the pieces together, "Then that would mean…you guys are human?"

"Dude, there's no way that's possible, right?" Calua asked in shock, "And yet…"

"Hey!" Ryan stated in shock as Calua poked his forehead, "What's that about dude?"

"Sorry dude, I just had to make sure we weren't hallucinating." Calua apologized, "You can poke me back if you want."

At that both Yosh and Gren sighed, blinked in surprise and then just chuckled at one another.

"Ah, look, Gren made a new friend." Red joked, watching Gren glare at him, "Anyway, I think we have some explanations to hear and give."

"Seriously dude? You're from somewhere else?" Calua asked in disbelief, "So that thing that we've been searching for is something you're after."

"Yeah, Nobodies are trouble and a sign ever more trouble is brewing." Ryan confirmed, "But dudes…no humans at all here. I can't believe they wiped themselves out…"

"It doesn't surprise me…the ones back home aren't all that great in my opinion." Dark growled, "At least that explains why you guys live up in the sky."

"As entertaining as this has been, I believe joining together to find what we've been cut off from and then taking care of that creature is imperative." Gren calmly stated, "We can continue this discussion later when we get out of here."

"Heh, I like this guy already." Yosh joked as the group headed out in search of both Reps and their new friends machines.

After walking a while, the group noted the tunnel veered off back towards where they needed to go.

"Good, looks like we might be getting somewhere." Red remarked, "I guess running into you guys was good luck."

"It's all in the jacket of plusing Mr. Hunter." Dark joked, striking a pose.

Mumbling something in Japanese, Yosh just sighed and looked on in annoyance.

"That really wasn't a nice thing to say." Gren commented as he continued walking.

"You…you understood that?" Yosh asked, a little embarrassed he'd been caught like that.

"Well, yes…why wouldn't I?" Gren asked back.

"…"

"It's pretty rare to see you speechless dude." Ryan stated, elbowing Yosh, "I think it's pretty funny to be honest."

Meanwhile Reps had made an attempt to navigate the tunnels on his own and felt as if he'd just merely made himself even more lost.

"Damn…this isn't going at all how I thought it would." Reps sighed, noting everything looked the same, "I just wish I had a sign of something different."

At that moment Reps smacked himself in the forehead for being so stupid.

"Of course, I can just use my infrared and look for some heat signals." Reps stated, switching his view mode over, "If I can find people then I'm golden…I hope."

Continuing down the tunnel, Reps had found some small heat sources but those mostly were moles and other small creatures; this led him to get pretty despondent until…

"Hey, that looks large enough to be a person…and it's close enough to the humanoid shape!" Reps stated, noting that the path seemed clear enough for him to get to whoever this was!

After jetting for what seemed forever, Reps came to a clearing and saw what appeared to be a tunnel outside.

"Freedom!" Reps shouted as he jetted outside and saw two rather short people waiting near what appeared to be an airship, "Hmmm…they seem harmless enough. Well, I guess if I get some help I should be able to find the others."

Noting they'd seen him, Reps gave a wave and jetted over to the two girls…

As chance would have it, our heroes had found the path they needed and waited as Red, Calua, and Gren went to retrieve what they had been cut off from.

"Hmmm…I wonder what they had to go get." Dark asked, a little curious of the whole situation.

"Well, maybe it's someone they were with or their weapons." Ryan commented, "I mean, I don't remember them having any on them."

"That seems logical enough." Yosh stated before noting a strange look on Ryan and Dark's faces, "What's the matter?"

Turning around, Yosh was face to face with…something and jumped back in shock before realizing someone was piloting said object.

"What the hell man!" Yosh shouted, "Don't just sneak up on somebody with something like that!"

"Oh look dude, he reacts just like you do to stuff like that." Calua joked, teasing Gren.

"…no comment." Gren replied.

"Well, we got our mechs back so let's see if we can find your friend and then take care of this No body thingie." Red remarked as he readied his mech.

"Um, that's Nobody as in one word dude." Ryan sighed, "Wait? Do you hear something?"

Noting the ground began to rumble, the heroes did their best to avoid any falling debris until…

"GRWAR!"

"It's the creature!" Dark shouted, "Alright, he's not getting away this time!"

"Dude, we might have trouble with this one." Calua stated grinning all the way, "Well then, let's show this thing what OverMephisto can do!"

Pulling out his Launcher, Calua unloaded a number of rounds into the Nobody but did minimal damage.

"Dude…that thing's tough."

"Let's see if I can have any luck!" Red shouted, charging it with Dahak and attempting to flip it, "Come on!"

Managing to get enough leverage, Red lifted the Nobody high into the air and then piledrived it into the ground hard, leaving it stunned.

"You fight things by lifting and tossing them…how very Super Mario Bros. USA of you." Ryan commented before running towards it.

"Dude, how are you going to fight it!" Calua shouted before seeing Ryan pull out his Keysaber and start carving it up, "Okay…dude! This guy is just full of surprises!"

"Hey, I've got an idea. Red, pick him up and toss him this way." Dark stated, readying his Keysaber.

"Okay then, let's see what you've got!" Red shouted, picking the Nobody up again and tossing him towards Dark.

"Home Run!" Dark shouted, smacking it with his Keysaber and sending it bouncing into the cavern walls.

"Dude, I don't know what a Home Run is but that was cool! I want to give it a shot!" Calua shouted excitedly, "Throw it this way Red!"

Gren, who had stayed silent along with Yosh this whole time, mumbled something and waited for this to play out.

"Now who's saying inappropriate things?" Yosh joked, "At least I'm not the only one that has to deal with these shenanigans in the cosmos."

Eventually after getting batted around enough times, the Nobody finally had had enough and soon dissipated back into the ether, leaving our heroes to celebrate.

"Well, that was entertaining." Red chuckled, "Oh, but weren't you looking for someone?"  
"Oh shit, we forgot about Reps." Ryan gasped before hearing some type of chatter, "Where's that coming from?"

"Oh, it's my mech. Hallo?" Red asked, picking up the receiver, "Ah, Chocolat, huh? What's that? Something about a raccoon dog?"

"Hey, that's our Reps!" Dark shouted with a laugh, "Good, he found a way out."

A loud collective sigh seemed to emanate from Yosh and Gren's direction which indicated it was time to go and with that our heroes made their way to the entrance and to Red's ship…

Asmodeus

"So this is your ship huh?" Ryan asked, looking it over, "Not bad…"

"I'm just glad we found Reps, still I'm surprised you made it out on your own." Dark stated with a laugh, "Usually you're helpless without us."

"Hey, I'm more than capable of making my way around." Reps sighed, "Thankfully I found Elh and Chocolat here; they seem much friendlier than those I normally consort with."

"A slight from Reps, how predictable." Yosh groaned, "Anyway, I think a few more explanations would be in order."

"I think we can oblige with that." Gren replied, "However, I think it'd be best if we return to the Golden Roar first as others there would need to hear anything you have to say and I dislike unnecessary repetition."

"Dude…he's way too much like Yosh; this is going to be just a bit rough for sure." Ryan sighed, "Well, you guys know the way to this Golden Roar so for the time being we'll depend on your help."

"You've got it!" Red shouted, "Chocolat, let's get moving!"

"Alright, Red…" Chocolat answered, punching the ship into gear, "I just hope we can trust these guys…"

"I assure you, we only have the best intentions in mind cutie." Dark explained, flashing his award winning grin, "We're a bit above the cut when it comes to humans…or half-humans in my case."

"…" Elh sighed, not really sure what to make of this new development.

As the ship made its way to the Golden Roar, Ryan and the others made idle chatter with Red and Calua as Gren and Yosh were more interested in the peace and quiet above deck.

"So you guys fight with mechs then?" Ryan asked, looking over the Dahak, "I am rather curious about one thing then, does that mean you can't fight without them?"

"I can defend myself if I have to." Red stated, "But Dahak does the heavy lifting for the most part."

"Gren's been helping me learn self-defense dude, but it's nothing compared to what I've seen you do!" Calua shouted, throwing a few punches, "Fighting like that without a mech, dude I wish I could do that!"

"Heh, well we can always show you some pointers I suppose." Dark chuckled, "So I think this is an important question but is anyone going to freak out if two and a half humans show up?"

"Two and a half? Oh, right you're supposed to be half-demon or something." Red stated in slight confusion, "I'm not even going to try and understand that one."

"It's probably for the best." Ryan sighed, "Is it just me or is Reps and Elh having a stare-off?"

Panning the camera over, Reps and Elh were sitting next to each other but not saying much other than simple one word phrases.

"I can't believe you thought I was a bug." Reps sighed with a grin.

"I can't help it…you look weird so I didn't know what to do." Elh sighed, "I am sorry…so are you a robot or something?"

"Well, sort of…I am cybernetic so you could say yes."

"So that means you live a longer life then, huh?"

"Yeah; I guess it's a little hard to be honest, having to know my friends will age long before I do." Reps stated, "I'm sure you don't know what that'd be like though."

"…you have no idea kid." Elh succinctly stated.

"Then that means…finally! Someone who understands me!" Reps shouted glomping onto Elh tightly.

"Ugh…what are you doing?" Elh asked in embarrassment, her face turning a bright red, "Oh…fine…whatever…"

"I'm sorry…it's quite hard to find people that can relate to me." Reps apologized, blushing slightly at his outburst, "I won't do that again."

"…it's alright." Elh stated, waving it off before noticing the others staring, "…What? What are you guys looking at?"

Noting they'd been caught, the others tried to act as nonchalant as possible until they heard Elh sigh and head off to the bridge.

"Do I even want to know what that was about?" Chocolat asked, entering the room to let them know they were at their destination.

Golden Roar

"Another nice ship…but mine's better." Ryan commented as they disembarked.

"Is it now? Dude knowing you it'd definitely be something awesome…I don't suppose we might get to see it sometime?" Calua asked, amped as always.

"We'll see if we can squeeze it in…I think Chocolat would be quite interested in it." Reps stated, "So, lead on guys…you know where to go."

Nodding, Gren and Calua took the lead as the group entered a large doorway and ended up in a large entryway where Ryan and his friends drew some strange looks.

"I feel so out of place." Ryan commented, feeling uneasy at the stares.

"Well, you three are a bit of an unusual occurrence." Gren remarked, "Come, this way is where the others are and then we can get down to business."

Entering a gilded doorway, the group was now in what appeared to be the control room and immediately heard a number of gasps.

"Humans?"

"Gren, Calua, what's the meaning of this?"

"…I'm not sure what to make of this."

"Merveille we can explain." Red stated trying to keep everyone calm.

"It's okay Miss Opera, dudes are okay." Calua added, vouching for our heroes.

"…I'm sure it's a long story Béluga." Elh sighed, "So I guess we'll have to get settled in for story time."

"Okay, so you're from another world." Merveille repeated, trying to take it all in, "I can't say I believe that but…here you are so I can't deny it either."

"Meow, meow, I suppose you can't be all that bad for helping my boys out." Opera stated, holding a fan in her hand, "You have my thanks then."

"Ladies, your reassuring words have lifted my resolve even higher." Dark stated, taking each of their hands and kissing them, "Incidentally Miss Opera, purple is my favorite color."

"Heh, you're quite a charmer, aren't you?" Opera replied back, smiling at Dark's actions.

Gren merely stared at Dark and rolled his eyes, a move Yosh saw and laughed at.

"Alright Casanova, lay off the heavy stuff." Ryan groaned, "Dude just goes nuts when he sees a pretty face."

"…if this is all they have to show then I don't think I need to worry." Béluga remarked, heading out of the room, "Call me if you need me."

"He doesn't do well with other people does he?" Reps asked Elh quietly.

"The short answer is yes, the longer one has a better explanation." Elh replied, "Has to do with that whole talk we had earlier."

"Ah, gotcha."

"So then, to get back on track." Merveille stated with a cough, "These Nobody creatures might be related to ones we've fought before; is there any way to stop them?"

"Well, it all depends on if we can find the source of them." Ryan explained, "Find the member of the Organization that's here and that should take them out…if we can find out where they are and what they want with your world."

"Dude, I think we might have a little more trouble than we bargained." Calua replied.

"Well, since it does seem to be your fault, I would think you'd help fix things, right?" Chocolat asked, staring up at Dark cutely.

"Of course little one, we'll help protect this world of yours!" Dark shouted, striking a heroic pose.

"Is he always like this?" Gren asked Yosh with a groan.

"Just when there's cute girls involved." Yosh replied back, face-palming.

"So if you guys are going to fight the Nobodies and the Organization I think we need to help upgrade your tech." Ryan stated as the group cleared out towards the Asmodeus, "If you guys want it that is."

"Does that mean we get to see your cool ship?" Chocolat shouted pretty much glomping onto Ryan.

"Um, yes…anyone that wishes to join us can." Ryan replied a little embarrassed at her show of enthusiasm.

"Now Chocolat, you're making our new friend uncomfortable." Red chided with a sigh, "You can count me in…seeing something that I can only imagine traverses the stars? That's quite an adventure."

"You already know how I feel dude!" Calua shouted, "Let's get going!"

"…I suppose I have no choice, someone has to keep Calua in line." Gren sighed, once again falling prey to Calua's whim.

"I know your pain." Yosh replied, patting Gren on the shoulder and offering condolences.

"Why don't you come too Elh?" Reps asked her, "I think you'd love the view the stars give."

"…I suppose. Nothing strange better happen." Elh groaned as the group was soon prepared.

"Alrighty, I've got this." Dark stated, pulling out a communicator from his jacket, "Gilliam, we're coming up…and we've got company so large-field for beam up."

"Oh dear…I just know this will end badly." Gilliam replied before activating the sequence, "Acknowledged."

With that our heroes were disassembled and transmitted back to…

The Outlaw Star

"Dude, I think I might be sick." Calua groaned, holding his stomach, "That was some trip!"

"You get used to it." Ryan replied, "I had the same issues my first time."

"So it's true…we are in space." Red spoke in awe, staring out the windows of the Outlaw Star and seeing the vastness of space and its entire splendor, "Awesome."

"Oh my gosh this is so cool!" Chocolat stated, looking around at the transporter and the adjacent room, "I can't believe all this awesome stuff up here!"

With that, Chocolat tore off for other parts of the ship, leaving Red and his friends to worry about her.

"Is she going to be okay running around like that?" Red asked, just now noticing Chocolat's absence.

"She'll be fine…she can't get anywhere dangerous and Gilliam has an eye on everything so she should be okay." Dark replied, helping ease Red's fears.

"EEEEEK!"

"You were saying?" Gren dryly replied as the group heard Chocolat come running back and tackling Red.

"What's the matter?" Red asked trying to pry Chocolat loose from her death grip on him.

"These guys…they're…they're…they're perverts!" Chocolat shouted, "They've got some girl that I think is naked locked away in some kind of tube."

At this the furry trio couldn't help but stare strangely at Dark and the others.

"Dude, I didn't think you'd be interested in that." Calua stated with a worried chuckle.

"I told you I didn't want anything weird happening…" Elh dryly whispered to Reps, sighing at the goings-ons.

"Sorry…" Reps meekly replied, not sure what just happened.

"Look, this is just one big misunderstanding." Ryan stated, trying to defuse the tension, "I think I know what happened."

"Can someone tell me what all the commotion is about?" Alia stated, entering the room and seeing more people than usual, "Oh, you guys didn't tell me we had guests."

"Is that the girl Chocolat?" Red asked, pointing at Alia.

"Yeah…but…she has clothing on." Chocolat stated, pointing at her, "Why were you in a tube?"

"Oh, so she's kind of like Mr. Reps." Chocolat stated, "And that tube was where you interface with the ship…that's so cool! What's it like to be one with a ship?"

"It's a…unique experience." Alia explained, "I can react faster than normal but I can also feel any damage the ship takes."

"She's a peach, that's for sure." Dark replied, putting an arm around her, "She's very tough so don't let those pretty looks fool you."

"You're such a goober." Alia replied, bopping him on the head, "So what brings you guys back anyway? You usually don't bring others with you."

"Well, our friends were curious and I thought we could get some of our tech to help charge up their mechs." Ryan explained to her, "So here we are."

"Dude, I can't believe how crazy you guys are." Calua joked, "So when do we get to the upgrade part?"

"Well, come this way and let's see what we can find for you guys." Dark stated, standing up and leading the others to the surplus room.

"If you see something you like and want to upgrade with it then by all means go for it!"

"You have my gratitude." Gren replied before looking over everything in the room.

"Dude! This looks like it can do some damage!" Calua stated, pulling out a large chain-gun, "Hmmm…Heavy-Arms…I like that name!"

"Letting Chocolat look for you, eh Red?" Yosh asked as he noted the hunter letting her do all the looking.

"Well, she is my mechanic and all…she'd know what I'd like best anyway." Red explained.

"Who is she anyway?"  
"Chocolat is my cute little sister of course!"

"Sister, eh? I guess she is kind of cute."

At the utterance of that phrase, Chocolat's ears perked up and she immediately dashed at Yoshio, latching on to him in the process.

"Ah, he thinks I'm cute." Chocolat cooed, holding on to him tightly.

"Ah, I see…so that's how it is Yosh." Dark chuckled, elbowing him, "And here I thought you didn't like the ladies…now I know how it really is."

"Look, this isn't how it seems." Yoshino stated, groaning at Dark's teasing.

"No no, it's okay my friend, I completely understand." Dark growled in laughter, "I won't hold it against you…she is pretty adorable after all."

"That's not…I mean it's….she…oh I give up." Yosh sighed, deciding he was fighting a losing battle.

"Now don't go breaking her heart." Red added, getting his jab in as well.

"Crazy damn furries…" Yosh groaned as Chocolat's glomping continued.

After an ample amount of teasing directed towards Yosh and the Solatorobo heroes deciding on parts that they liked, the group was resting briefly before returning to the surface.

"So what's up with Béluga and Merveille?" Reps asked Elh, "He seemed a bit uneasy to begin with, but got a bit more upset when Dark kissed her hand."

"Well, I think he's rather fond of her but he isn't exactly good at showing emotions." Elh explained, "Not that I can blame him all things considering…"

"Ah, something to do with what you said earlier then?" Reps replied back, "I'm sure it'll work out for you guys."

"Thanks." Elh stated, carefully looking over towards Red, "I hope so…"

Meanwhile, Ryan was trying to show Calua a few moves to help give him a little hand-to-hand edge.

"Hmm, I think I get it dude." Calua stated, trying to do the move and tripping, "Ow…I might need some more practice."

"I know it's none of my business, but I do believe you shouldn't keep them away from their world for too long." Gilliam stated, surprising Red, Chocolat, and Calua; Gren, as usual, was cool as ice.

"Who was that?" Chocolat asked, latching on to Yosh in shock at the mysterious voice.

"It's okay Chocolat, that's just our ship." Dark explained, pointing to a little pink cylinder with eyes, "He normally doesn't explore with that, but I guess he wanted to make an appearance this time."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Gilliam stated his eyebrows and eyes making it obvious he was annoyed.

"Um, dude, why is he pink?" Calua asked with a chuckle.

"That was from the previous crew I believe." Ryan answered, "He was like that when we started flying the Outlaw Star so we just didn't question it."

"I think it's cool that your ship can think too!" Chocolat shouted, "I definitely have to upgrade the Asmodeus to match your stuff!"

"Well, I'm not that great…but thank you nonetheless." Gilliam replied, a faint blush marking his cheek area.

"Did he just blush?" Gren asked with a sigh, "This is so nonsensical…"

"I don't really notice anymore so much has happened." Yosh dryly commented, "Anyway, I guess he's right…we do need to make some headway."

"Aw, okay." Chocolat stated, heading back towards the transmitter.

"Before we go, I have one last question." Red stated, a look on his face, "If he's the ship, then doesn't he see everything that happens? As in, you have no privacy?"

"Oh look at the time; teleport!" Alia stated quickly, pressing buttons on the panel and sending them back down to the Golden Roar.

"My thanks Ms. Alia for avoiding anymore awkwardness." Gilliam stated with a sigh, "I almost wonder if I'd be better off with that old crew of mine right now…"

Golden Roar

"I still want my answer." Red grumbled as the group headed back to tune up and upgrade their mechs.

"It's best not to think about it." Dark replied, "Besides, he's a ship, it's not like someone is spying on you or something."

"I'll be fixing my mech if you need me." Gren replied, quickly distancing himself from the crazies.

"Hey Mr. Author, that was mean." Chocolat stated, pouting at my choice of words.

…fine, Gren was distancing himself from those that made it no fun to concentrate seriously.

"Thank you!" Chocolat shouted, before dragging Red and Dark with her, "You two help me work on this!"

"Well, I guess I can help you out if you want dude." Ryan suggested to Calua, who quickly took up his offer.

"Well then, I guess it's just you and I." Reps stated to Elh noting everyone had left at some point, "So, I guess we just wait then."

"Yes…peaceful at last." Elh stated, leading Reps over to some benches and sitting down, "We'd better enjoy it while we can."

"Tell me about it…with these guys…" Reps chuckled, rolling his eyes and sitting next to her, "If I nod off, don't mind me."

"Right…"

Rather than bore those out there with the details, we'll skip ahead to after our intrepid group of heroes has engaged in the upgrading actions and emerged with some magnificent mechs.

"Well, now all we really need then is a lead of some kind." Ryan noted, as the group met up back at the meeting hall.

"From what Opera has told me, Béluga is working on some leads." Gren explained, "So we should have our plan of action soon."

"Awesome dude, I can't wait to try the stuff we worked on!" Calua shouted enthusiastically.

"Hmm, speaking of people, has anyone seen Elh?" Red asked, looking around for her.

"You know, Reps is missing too." Dark noted, "You think they're together somewhere."

"Meow, meow. Why are you boys just standing around?" Opera asked, seeing our group a little perplexed as she walked in.

"We can't seem to find Reps or Elh." Dark answered, "Would you have happened to see where they are?"

"Ah, I saw them outside on the bench sitting together." Opera stated, motioning towards the front of the ship, "You should go get them, Béluga has reported in with some info."

"Gotcha Miss Opera!" Calua replied, "Let's go get them dudes."

As our intrepid group made their way outside, they saw quite a sight; turns out the two of them had fallen asleep and were leaning upon each other.

"Quick, someone get a camera!" Ryan stated, clearly wishing to preserve this moment.

"Already got that covered." Yosh stated, having ninjaed one out and snapped the Polaroid, "And thus, instant proof…what?"

Ryan and Dark could only stare in shock before laughing, whilst Calua mumbled to Gren something about how they affect Yosh like he affects him.

"Huh…oh, I fell asleep." Reps yawned, feeling a bit groggy, "Eh? Why do I feel heavier than usual? Elh?"

"Whazzat?" Elh moaned in her half-sleep stupor, "Oh…Reps…Reps!"

Shooting straight up and backing away, the two suddenly realized they had an audience and quickly tried to play things off.

"Um, so, that weather right?" Reps asked, looking to his right.

"Yeah, the clouds are pretty." Elh replied, looking to her left.

After a little bit of teasing and some sighing, the group reported back to Opera and the others to find out what Béluga had found out.

"So we've detected four locations that seem to be giving off the same signal as that creature from before." Merveille explained, pointing to a computer screen, "It would seem that these Nobodies of yours mean business."

"More than likely the Organization member is getting desperate cutie." Dark replied, "So I suppose we'll have to split up then."

"Well, I guess we just pair off with our counterparts." Yoshino suggested to which Gren replied something about a mission maybe being peaceful for once.

"Ow dude, that's striking me right here." Calua joked, holding a hand over his chest, "Well then I guess I'm heading off with Ryan then."

"Very well, you two take the first two locations; Gren and Yoshino head towards Basset, Ryan and Calua you two can check the disturbance at Pharaoh." Merveille stated, "That leaves two places to check out."

"Well, I'll drag Red with me and go see what this whole mysterious fighter thing is about on the Duel Ship." Dark decided, "I guess that just leaves this last one for Elh and Reps."

"So some place called…Vizsla?" Reps asked, noting the final location.

"Wait…no…you guys can't do that to me again." Elh gasped in dismay, "Oh please…"

"What's got her all agitated?" Dark asked Red.

"She has this…thing about bugs." Red explained, "Reps will protect you, right Reps?"

"Um, yes! Right, no bugs will cause problems with me around!" Reps shouted, striking a heroic pose.

"Well then, I guess now that things have been settled you should get going." Merveille stated, "I have some things to check on, so if you'll excuse me."

"Meow meow, well don't just stand there boys, we've got a job to do!" Opera chided, fanning herself, "Let's get a move out!"

After watching Dark and Red take off with Reps and Elh in the Asmodeus, the others waited to arrive at the first location.

Basset

"Well, this is our stop." Gren stated, having headed to the deck with the others, "We'll keep in touch and let you know what we can find out."

"Well then, time to head out!" Yosh shouted, jumping off the side of the deck.

"What are you doing dude?" Calua shouted in confusion, "We haven't docked yet!"

Ryan, noting what Yosh was doing, decided to join in the fun.

"Well, don't want to be left out." Ryan commented before jumping off as well.

"What is wrong with these people?" Gren asked, completely stunned at their craziness.

"…I'm not quite sure I just saw what I did." Opera dryly commented.

Figuring they'd had enough fun with their new friends, the duo soon floated back up to the deck looking rather amused.

"Are you guys going to drag tail all day or what?" Yosh joked, noting the looks on their faces.

"Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude! They can fly!" Calua shouted in glee, "Okay, you've got to show me how to do that one."

"Well, I think it'd be a fair trade off since you're giving us a hand with those Nobodies." Ryan replied, landing next to Calua.

"Okay, I've had my fun for now." Yosh commented, motioning for Gren to join him, "Just watch yourselves."

"Hey, it's us. No problem." Ryan shot back before they pulled off, heading for the next destination.

"…I see that you as well have those that can affect your thoughts." Gren dryly stated as he and Yosh wandered around town looking for clues.

"I suppose so…though it pains me to admit it." Yosh groaned, "Jeez, this place is sort of a scrap yard; is it built entirely from old ships?"

"Yes…all the leftover wreckage from the wars so long ago were brought together to form this island." Gren explained, "Sad but at least things are improving…at least when strange occurrences don't pop up."

"I feel like I should take offense to that." Yosh chuckled, "Well, let's see if we can track down any info."

Walking about the town, the two couldn't comb much information from the populace, especially with Yosh sticking out like a sore thumb; reaching the end of their ropes, the two finally decided to check with the Quest Broker.

"Bounjour! Oh, you're quite the unique looking fellow." Flo, the ever-lovely quest broker, stated towards Yosh, "And Gren, good to see you again…what can I help you with?"

"We're hoping someone might be needing help with some strange creature, one that normally isn't seen." Gren explained, "Is there anyone requesting something along that line?"

"Actually, there is this one." Flo stated, bringing up the request, "The fishermen by the wharf have all started seeing this strange creature out in the cloud sea and their afraid it may attack the town; the only description is a strange white color and what appear to be zippers all along it's back."

"Bingo." Yosh stated, "We'll take the job!"

"My, so brave, well then let's hope I'll see more of you." Flo replied with a wink, "Good luck."

"I'm so glad Dark wasn't around to see that, he'd tease the hell out of me for it." Yosh groaned at Flo's actions as the two made their way to the dock.

"…no comment." Gren sighed as they flagged down one of the fishermen and explained the situation.

"Ah! So finally someone's come to answer the call!" the fisherman shouted, "Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself, call me Ishmael."

"…seriously?" Yosh asked, "Well then Ishmael, what can we do to help?"

"Well, it's a good thing you've got that mech with you, you're going to need it to help catch this creature." Ishmael explained, "Here, let me set it up."

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't tinker with that!" Gren shouted as the fisherman attached a giant harpoon of sorts, "What is this ridiculous thing you've put on my machine?"

"It's a harpoon, you need that to fish for the creature; can't stop it till you've pulled it up from the clouds." Ishmael explained, "And wouldn't you know it, here it comes…get ready!"

"This is so ridiculous." Yosh groaned, helping Gren align the harpoon to launch it.

"…the sooner we snag it, the better." Gren stated, lining up the sights and pulling the trigger, the harpoon sailing through the air and landing with a loud thud as it embedded itself in the creature.

"Yahoo! You got it sonny, now pull her in!" Ishmael shouted in excitement, "Don't let her get away!"

"Somehow I think we're being played with here by something beyond us." Yosh sighed, helping Gren yank on the line, "I think it's weakening!"

"…fine. Then this shall end it!" Gren shouted, pulling his mech with all his might and sending the great creature flying.

"That's my cue then!" Yosh stated, flying up into the air and locating the creature's emblem, "Gotcha!"

Pulling out his Keysaber, Yosh plunged it deep into the symbol and felt the creature groan and roar in pain as it slowly came undone and its separated parts plummeted into the cloud sea below.

"…impressive." Gren replied when Yosh landed, though Ishmael had his jaw on the ground at the sight, "Well, time to hit the old dusty trail for now till the others are done."

"Agreed." Yosh sighed, "I need a drink after all that."

"Well, the bar here does have a very good brand of sake…" Gren replied, "My treat..."

"I think I'll take you up on that one." Yosh joked, "Somehow though I think we got the easy one; knowing Dark he's going to cause some trouble especially if a tournament is involved."

Meanwhile, nearby on top of the tall rusting remains of a battleship a cloaked figure watched in curiosity at the two and grumbled at how worthless that minion was.

"So they've finally arrived here…heh…that should make things more interesting." ? Stated to himself, "Well then, time to make my appearance known…"

With that, the figure disappeared through a portal that led him straight to…

Duel Ship

"Well, since we'll be here awhile, what can I expect from this place?" Dark asked Red as Chocolat dropped them off and headed to Vizsla with Reps and Elh.

"Well they have a crazy announcer and the fans can be a little…rowdy." Red tried to explain, "Also look out for insane people trying to recruit you to their armies."

"Noted…any fangirls?" Dark asked as they walked onto the deck.

"…unfortunately." Red sighed as they headed toward a rather well-dressed Felineko.

"Ah, Red, so good to see you again; and who's your friend here? Another hero to help stir things up?" Quentin asked, seeing Dark, "But, um, where's his mech?"

"This guy here is so crazy…he fights without one." Red explained dramatically, "Incidentally, I've heard rumor of a tournament with a mysterious fighter…one that apparently fights like my friend here."

"Another one? Oh, this could turn into something great." Quentin whispered aside to himself.

"He okay?" Dark asked at his behavior.

"He has a bad habit of talking to himself." Red sighed, "So then, is there truth to that?"

"Why certainly…but I figure with someone like you fighting he won't stand a chance." Quentin explained, "I do hope you're friend will consider participating as well…"

"Me? Turn down a tournament?" Dark scoffed with a grin, "Never…I'm game!"

"Excellent, excellent; well then, head on down to the preparation deck and we'll get things rolling."

As the two waited for the tournament to get underway, Dark couldn't help but notice Red looked a little bothered.

"What's the matter bro?" Dark asked noting his unusual behavior, "You seem a bit uneasy…"

"Oh, this is about the time a certain knight and princess show up…or a crazy fangirl." Red sighed as he continued keeping an eye out, "It seems I might be lucky this ti…dammit, spoke too soon."

"RED!" shouted a hyper girl that practically tackled him.

"…hi Toffee." Red groaned, "Every single time…"

"Well now, isn't this an intriguing development?" Dark chuckled, amused at the situation, "It seems you've got no shortage of female attention Red."

"At least it's just her…and not that crazy Cyan and the princess." Red replied, picking himself up off the ground, "You've got to stop doing that Toffee, it's painful."

"Sorry Red." Toffee said with a cute wink, "Hmmm, who's this guy?"

"I am Darkness Shade my dear girl." Dark stated, kissing her hand, "I'm a friend of Red's."

"Heh, you're silly." Toffee replied with a giggle, "So are you guys in the tournament?"

"Indeed we are; you aren't participating are you?" Red asked, hoping to avoid any more complications.

"Nope! I'm just here to cheer you on…and I guess I can cheer your friend on too!" Toffee replied before realizing the time, "Oh snap, I've got to get to my seat! Kick some butt guys!"

"You've quite the connections." Dark chuckled, "Well, let's show them what kind of butt I can kick! Though if we end up fighting one another, I won't go easy Red."

"Heh, I wouldn't ever expect that Dark." Red chuckled as the two made their way to their arenas.

"Quite the crowd." Dark commented as he awaited the start of the fight, "Well, let's give them a show."

As his opponent and his mech took the stage, Dark could overhear the crowd murmuring to themselves.

"What kind of joker is this? Where's his mech?"

"I'd like to know what's with that getup. Wings?"

"…you don't think he's seriously going to fight like that do you?"

"I don't know, it seems pretty brave to me; I bet he's all kung-fu crazy!"

"You can do it Dark!" Toffee shouted from her seat as the announcer started his speech.

"Today in this special tournament we have a new contender that apparently hails from parts unknown. Sporting a crazy getup and an even crazier attitude for fighting, this winged fighter is creating quite a stir already." Stated an eye-patch wearing Felineko, "Huh? What's this? I've been handed a card…Ah, so that's his game; well then folks, let's give a big welcome for this first time competitor and fighter for love, Darkness Shade!"

"Thank you, thank you…especially the ladies." Dark replied, playing up the crowd.

"And his opponent is no stranger to fighting having been a former Kurvaz guild member; let's hear it for the grizzled veteran Quebec!" Announcer shouted, introducing Dark's opponent.

"You've got some grit facing me like that boy; prove to me it's not all for show." Quebec shouted with a grin, "Come get me!"

"Ready…FIGHT!"

"Let's see how you handle this!" Dark shouted, pulling out his Keysaber and charging at Quebec.

"Reckless boy!" Quebec shot back, deflecting his attack and going in for a slash of his own…and missing, "What the heck?"

"Up here old man!" Dark shouted from up above before coming down and smacking away his lance.

"Excellent, you aren't all talk then!" Quebec shouted in delight, "Show this old man just what you can do!"

As the fight continued, the crowd was in shocked awe as Dark handled himself well against Quebec's mecha.

"How can this be? No one is that tough, right?"

"…that guy can't be real; it's just not possible."

"…does anyone else notice he kind of looks like Red when he changes?"

"Rock it Dark!" Toffee shouted loudly as Dark was making sport of Quebec.

"So boy, how does one like you end up here of all places?" Quebec asked as the fight took a slight pause, "It's been years since I've fought one of your kind."

"Heh, so I'm not the first half-demon you've fought then…but I bet I'm the best." Dark chuckled, "And here's why!"

Unprepared for Dark's attack, Quebec felt a strange shudder as his mech shook and then was lifted up and tossed up in the air; at this Dark jumped straight up, grabbed it by the tail and swung it around before flinging it to the arena floor.

"Ugh…guess you beat me boy." Quebec sighed, laughing as his mech exploded.

"And there he is, the fighter of love, the hero of hearts, and the leader of ladies; our winner…DARKNESS SHADE!" the Announcer shouted as Dark took a bow.

"You folks are too kind…but don't worry, I'll give you another show soon I promise!" Dark shouted as he descended back to the ready room.

"Ah, there you are." Red stated, seeing Dark step off the elevator, "I saw the end of your match and, well, wow…that's pretty crazy."

"What else would the great Darkness Shade do but impress?" Dark joked much to Red's annoyance, "So did you win yours?"

"Yeah…piece of cake, those sky pirates couldn't ever touch me!" Red beamed before hearing a familiar cough, "Oh no…"

"Ah, there you are Red; here to show your worth as my subordinate?" stated a regally dressed blue furred Felineko, "Hmmm…I don't recognize this shady character though."

"Darkness Shade, at your service." Dark stated, introducing himself, "Oh…and you're not alone I see."

"Yes, this is the Princess; I suppose if you are a trusted friend of Red's then you must be a worthy man, if a bit odd looking. My name is Cyan." Cyan explained, "If you know Sir Red then I must test you and see if you are worthy of being my underling."

"Well then, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance my lady." Dark stated, taking and kissing the Princess' hand all while ignoring Cyan, "Red does keep such pretty company."

The Princess' giggle at Dark's show of gentlemanliness did little to cool Cyan's temper at this act, to which he soon laughed.

"Well then, it seems fate would play in my odds Mr. Shade." Cyan chuckled, "We shall soon meet on the field and then I'll test your merit…"

"What is with this guy?" Dark asked Red in annoyance.

"Don't ask me…maybe it has something to do with where he's from." Red sighed before noting they were still there, "Um…"

"You're so silly Sir Red." The Princess chuckled, "I'll be pulling for you two so do your best!"

"Such kind words from a lovely lady, I feel as if I can take on any endeavor now." Dark charismatically declared, "If you'll excuse me, I believe I and Mr. Blue over there have a duel to attend to."

"The name's Cyan…I see I'll have to be extra strict with you then." Cyan replied, "Come Princess, it's nearly time."

Parting ways, Dark got himself pumped for his fight as Red looked on wondering just how this guy was supposed to be like him.

"Well then folks, here we go with round 2! Back is the winged fighter that's endeared himself with the crowd; the hero of hearts, the champion of charisma, the smooth operator that is…DARKNESS SHADE!" the Announcer blared receiving a roar from the crowd.

"Ladies, Gentleman…and ladies! Let's do this thing!" Dark replied to the accolades from the crowd.

"Facing him now is the royal pride that won't stop talking till _your _blue in the face…"

"Hey, quit saying dumb things about me…" Cyan interjected.

"…the royal knight who shouldn't quit his day job: Cyan Garland!"

"Heh, finally…now I can test you myself you cocky character." Cyan stated, pointing his sword at Dark menacingly, "This is the Super Durandel V3 and is that which shall defeat you!"

"And this is a Keysaber." Dark shot back, spinning his blade around, "With this and my claws as my partner, you don't stand a chance."

"Ready…? FIGHT!"

Lunging at Dark, Cyan seeked to make a quick end of this with his sword but was unprepared for Dark's speed.

"How…how did you block it?" Cyan asked in disbelief, trying to overpower Dark and not doing such a good job.

"You're the experienced knight; you tell me how I did that." Dark joked, knocking his blade back and dashing behind him.

"Oh no you don't!" Cyan shouted, spinning around and tossing his shield at Dark.

"Ack!" Dark shouted, ducking just in time to avoid it and laughing, "Well then, that was unexpected, guess you are making this fun."

"Heh…we'll see about that." Cyan shot back, spinning in circles, "Dodge this!"

'Heh, far too predictable.' Dark thought as he merely just jumped in the air and stayed there while Cyan's attack ran its course.

"Dude! That guy is just…floating in thin air!"

"He can fly!"

"Well he does have wings…"

"That's the way Dark!" Toffee shouted before feeling a tap on her shoulder, "Oh hey, Red…your match was over?"

"Yeah…seems you've found a new hero to obsess over, eh?" Red joked to which Toffee merely blushed.

"It's well…yeah…it is a bit hard not to get swept up by him." Toffee sighed.

"Alright, looks like he's finishing up." Dark stated, flying down and landing on the loading compartment of Cyan's mech.

"…oh, that was dizzying; eh? Where did that winged fool vanish to?" Cyan asked, unaware that Dark was right behind his cockpit.

"…guess he's got this in the bag then." Red stated at Dark's actions, "Good…that'll make it very interesting."

"What's that mean?" Toffee asked, but before Red could answer, Dark made his move.

"Right here blue boy." Dark shouted, slicing off one of the mechs arms, sliding his Keysaber behind his back, and then slicing off the other arm.

Hopping off the back, Dark stared at his now defenseless opponent.

"Guess you could say you got…" Dark stated, pulling out and putting on another pair of shades, "Disarmed! YEAH!"

"I can still move and still fight, so this isn't over yet." Cyan stated, readying for one last charge.

"Heh, very well then….let us finish this!" Dark shouted, brandishing his claws and flying full force at Cyan.

As the two combatants made contact, time seemed to slow down as they passed each other with a loud clang and soon were on opposite sides of the arena.

"Game. Set. Match." Dark slowly stated as Cyan's mech soon fell apart into several slices, leaving Cyan to comically hang in the air before finally falling down into the rubble of his mech.

"Ladies and Gentleman, he's done it once again!" The Announcer roared, "Your winner is our fighter for love, champion of charm, and all-around ladies man: DARKNESS SHADE!"

"Heh…I should have known better than this." Cyan commented, picking himself up, "Being an acquaintance of Sir Red's easily meant you were quite skilled."

"Heh, don't feel bad Cyan; that was pretty fun." Dark replied, "Maybe we can spar again someday."

Back in the waiting room, Dark met up with Red and Toffee but noted that Cyan and the Princess had apparently taken off.

"Mr. Knight said he had matters to attend to but that he, unfortunately for you, is now going to do what it takes to recruit you." Red sighed in annoyance, "Sorry to drag you into that."

"Eh, it's no biggie Red." Dark replied, "So you won your match then…yes?"

"Yeah, was pretty quick and painless just like Round 1; those Kurvaz sure don't give up even if they aren't very good." Red joked, "Although I guess that's something they can be proud of."

"Hey, wait, there's only three rounds and then the champion faces the mystery warrior, right?" Toffee asked, having pieced things together, "Oh dear…how can I choose?"

"Choose what Toffee?" Dark questioned at her behavior, "What's got your pretty self all a fluster?"

"Well if you won, and Red won, then that means you two are going to fight." Toffee explained, "I've always liked Red but you're cool too!"  
"Heh, just root for both of us." Red replied with a wink, "That way we'll both give our all."  
"By God, I think he's finally getting it." Dark chuckled, "So then, we get to throw down? I must admit I'd hoped this would occur."

"Certainly; I think I've found someone I can go full out on and actually have them keep up." Red chuckled back, "Well, if I'm to win I'd best get my mech all set for the match."

"That's cute, you think you'll win." Dark joked, "Alrighty, I'm going to prepare too; can't let you have too easy a time."

Meanwhile in the back shadows of the waiting area, a cloaked figure watched quietly as the two put their all into this fight; the figure laughed at their silliness…especially when the winner would suffer a quick defeat at his hands…

"Well folks, here we are at the final round! The winner here will get to take part in our special match against the mysterious fighter for a chance at ultimate fame and fortune!" The Announcer stated, "And so, here he is, the winged fighter of love, the one the ladies swoon for and the guys wish they could be; your hero of hearts: DARKNESS SHADE!"

"Thank you, thank you…I promise quite a show this time around." Dark boasted eager to get this match on.

"And facing him is everyone's favorite hero of the ring, the people's champion and the flawless ace of the arena; give it up for Red Savarin!"

"Heh, this is going to be a great chance to see all you've got so don't hold back Dark!" Red shouted as he made Dahak make a fist pumping motion, "Go all out!"

"I wouldn't fight any other way, Red." Dark shot back, impatiently spinning his Keysaber.

"Oh, I don't know who to cheer for." Toffee worriedly thought, bouncing back and forth, "Dark! Red! Dark! Red! Both of you can do it!"

"Ready…? FIGHT!"

Not missing a beat, Dark charged headlong at Red who quickly deflected his attack and sent him flying upwards.

"Heh, not too bad." Dark chuckled as he righted himself and started to dive-bomb Red.

"Going all out so fast might not be the smartest thing." Red stated, dashing out of the way and watching Dark plow into the arena floor, "Gotcha!"

With lightning speed, Red latched onto Dark and deftly tossed him up into the air ready for a pile-drive.

"…I don't think so." Dark shot back, quickly pulling a reversal and grabbing onto the Dahak's frame, "Time to go down!"

Spinning around, Dark began rocketing towards the ground and let go of Red's mech at the last second sending him crashing rather hard.

"Ugh…the Dahak Mk. II is stronger that that Dark!" Red shouted, standing his mech back up and grinning, "This is fun…I forgot what a good challenge was like."

"Well then, allow me to indulge you further." Dark replied with a grin before a crackle of electricity shot up all around him, "Let's see how you handle a half-demon super-charged!"

With a loud roar Dark unleashed his ki and took on a familiar purple glow as his hair spiked up; pulling out another Keysaber and crossing the two together Dark was ready for action.

"Heh, now that's more like it!" Red shouted, pumped up at the action, "I'll show you what my partner and I can do! Bring it!"

Obliging Red, Dark rushed him at a ridiculous speed and brought his two Keysabers to bear on the Dahak…only to have them grabbed and held back by the mech.

"What the heck? How can that thing grab solid light?" Dark asked in confusion, "You're just full of surprises aren't you?"

Red merely let out a laugh as he soon pulled Dark up off the ground and spun him around until he lost his grip and went flying form the centrifugal force.

"Let's see how Dahak can handle these things." Red commented, flipping the Keysabers around and wielding them.

"You should know better than to toy with something that isn't yours." Dark shot back, quickly vanishing from sight.

Red's head shifted left to right trying to find some sign of where Dark had disappeared too but he all too quickly felt something smash into Dahak and cause it to drop the Keysabers.

"I'll take those!" Dark shouted, willing them back to his hands, "Is this all you've got Red cause if it is I'm bored."

"Heh…alright then; if you want to amp things up all the way then let's do just that." Red howled as he focused his energy, "TRANCE OUT!"

In a brilliant explosion of light, Red and Dahak both transformed and combined with one another; Red was now a blonde human hovering above the ground wielding Dahak as some type of power armor.

"Dude, what happened to your shirt!" Dark questioned but soon turned serious, "Well then, you are just full of surprises Mr. Hybrid. I must say though, I like how you use that mech of yours; it truly is your partner."

"Heh, I bet you'll be the first person that actually makes this form of mine work for a victory." Red chuckled, "I sense though that you aren't at your peak either."

"…you sure you want that?" Dark asked back.

"Let's see what the crowd has to say." Red explained, "Well, do you guys want this awesome battle or what?"

"Do it! Let's see you guys go nuts!"

"…these guys aren't real, there's no way…no way…people aren't like this!"

"Maybe it's just a trick?"

"No way, these two are the real deal!" Toffee shouted loudly, "Dark! Red! Show us some real action!"

"Looks like the crowd has spoken." Dark quietly chuckled, "Alright then…you get to be the first to face this form."

"I'll consider it an honor then." Red joked back, flexing his hands, "Let's see what you've got."

Focusing all of his power inward, Dark's purple aura began to take on an almost otherworldly look to it before briefly flashing and then exploding outward sending a fierce wind through the arena.

An inhuman howl filled the arena as the dust settled showing off quite the sight, Dark's features were slightly more prominent now: his teeth a little longer and sharper, his claws extended further, his tail much more pronounced and bushier, and his usually pitch black eyes had a creepy purple light emanating from them.

"From out of the shadows comes a force of unstoppable Ecchiness…I am Darkness Shade baby. Dark growled, his trademark grin still intact, "Well then, is this what you were waiting for Red?"

"…you really are a demon aren't you? Well then, that just means you'll be that much more a challenge!" Red shouted, winding back his arms and dashing at Dark, "Let's rumble!"

"My thoughts exactly!" Dark shouted, dashing at Red and landing the first blow.

The crowd wasn't sure what to make of the fight as the two of them began moving incredibly fast, the only sign they were still there the sounds of their weapons hitting one another and the displacement of air their speed caused; even the announcer was speechless at the intensity of this action.

"You're quite good." Dark shouted, having his Keysabers blocked and dodging the counter Red sent his way, "But then again being a half-breed like myself I should expect no less."

"A compliment from you even in the heat of battle?" Red chuckled as he managed to grab Dark's tail, "That is something!"

Spinning him round and round, Red finally let go sending Dark into the arena floor and leaving a rather large dent in the metal.

Dark was unmoving as Red landed nearby and the crowd watched in awe that maybe this fight was finally over…at least until Dark slowly stood up and began popping his joints.

"Ugh…that was fun." Dark grinned, spreading his wings in glee, "Unfortunately I can no longer take over the story for as long as I have so it's time I beat you silly Red; so sorry."

"What are you…" Red started to ask before Dark disappeared again and teleported right behind him, "Oh dear…"

"Don't worry, it won't hurt much!" Dark reassured him, grabbing him and flying above the arena, "Time to finish this!"

Red for his worth tried to struggle free of Dark's grip but just couldn't seen to get loose, Dark had him thoroughly in his grasp.

"…if I was to lose to anyone, at least it's you." Red laughed as Dark stopped his ascent and flung him downward, "Show me the strength of a demon!"

Dark merely grinned in reply and vanished from sight before reappearing and smashing into Red over and over, Red grimacing at the attacks but noticing he wasn't getting any injuries.

"What…?" Red asked before feeling the attacks again and noting his energy was beginning to fade.

"A winner is me!" Dark shouted before hitting Red one last time, kanji appearing in the background, "Demonic Special Arts: Ki Bleed!"

With that, Red soon changed back into his regular self with Dahak falling to the ground first; before Red could hit the ground Dark swooped in and caught him bracing his fall and slowly lowering him to the ground.

"Don't worry; I've got you Red…"

"…I…I don't know what I just witnessed but it had to have been the most spectacular fight we'll ever have here!" The Announcer shouted as the match ended, "Well then, you've seen it here folks and I think it is quite clear. The hero of hearts, the demon of love, and the king of compassion! Your winner of this tournament is the Ecchi man number one: DARKNESS SHADE!"

At this declaration the crowd when nuts, clearly excited at what was one hell of a throw down.

"Red, Dark…at least they're both okay." Toffee sighed as she wound down from the excitement, "Thank goodness…"

Twitching slightly, Dark powered down and returned to his normal self only to see that Red was still out of it.

"I hope I didn't over do it." Dark grimaced, feeling Red's pulse, "Good, he's just sleeping…guess his transformed self couldn't handle my attack; still it was the best way to win without hurting my friend."

With that Dark carried Red to the elevator and headed back to the waiting room to not only await his match with the mystery fighter but more importantly to make sure Red recovered.

"Looks like this will be a good place for you to relax till you wake up." Dark stated aloud as he placed Red onto the couch in the waiting area, "Heh…you are one hell of a fighter that's for sure."

"Dark!" Toffee shouted, running over to him and gasping at Red's condition, "Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll wake up feeling okay, that attack isn't designed to physically harm someone." Dark explained to her, "Instead I use my demonic half to mess with a person's inner energy workings and, to put it simply, he just fainted."

"That's good to know…you sure are kind despite how fierce you look." Toffee replied, sliding over and grabbing hold of Dark's arm.

"…thanks Toffee; that means more to me then you could know." Dark replied with a genuine smile as the two soon sat down and waited for Red to awake; the bonus fight being delayed slightly as they made the arrangements in the second arena since the first one was in no shape for a bout.

It took quite a bit of time for them to move everything around but eventually the arena was all set and ready for Dark's showdown with the mystery fighter.

"He still hasn't woken up…" Toffee lamented, noting Red was still asleep.

"Too bad, guess he won't get to see me beat this guy down." Dark joked, "Seriously though stay here with him; he needs you more than I do."

"Alright…go kick this guys butt!" Toffee shouted encouragingly, "Show Red he lost to the champ!"

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything but that." Dark joked as he headed to the arena.

Entering the arena Dark didn't see his opponent and wondered the deal was.

"Hey, where are you dude!" Dark shouted, "I know you're here you Organization bastard so let's do this thing."

As if on cue, an inky black portal opened up and out stepped someone hidden behind a long hooded trench coat, the smallest bit of red the only thing poking out.

"You finally showed yourself!" Dark shouted, pulling out his Keysaber, "I knew you guys wouldn't stay quiet for long Duel!"

"Heh, so the traitor remembers me after all…then again after the things I did you always said you'd never forget my name." Duel chuckled as he pulled off his hood showing off his green hair and bandana.

"…dammit Keydan quit doing that with my mind." Dark grumbled to himself, "Let's say I've been itching to kick your guys butt…strangely I don't know why but maybe battle will remind me."

Duel merely chuckled and began shuffling a deck of cards back and forth, awaiting the beginning of battle.

"Well then it seems our champion of charisma knows our secret fighter; how will this fight turn out? No need for introductions this time around as these two have already made quite the name for themselves so let's get ready for battle!" The announcer shouted loudly whipping the crowd into a frenzied mob.

"Ready…? FIGHT!"

"Heh…so then, lose any children's card games lately?" Dark shot out, hoping to catch him off-guard.

"…how the heck did you know?" Duel groaned, "How do you think I ended up here? If I ever catch that spiky-haired little bastard I'll…ahem, but that's not important."

"…I didn't expect to be right." Dark coughed before charging at Duel, "I almost feel sorry for you…almost."

Duel sighed but then easily dodged Dark and tossed a handful of cards at him, wrapping his arms together and effectively binding them.

"Okay…that was not in the plan." Dark growled, trying to break free, "Not going to stop me though."

"Oh no?" Duel chuckled, juggling some dice, "Let's just see then."

Tossing the dice, Dark wasn't quite sure of just what he was up to till he heard the dice ticking and quickly realized he needed to dash.

"Dice Rolls too?" Dark shouted, "Man Konami is so gonna sue!"

"You always were such a cunning opponent…too bad you weren't ruthless enough." Duel chuckled as Dark could only dodge and not break free.

"That's what you think." Dark spat back, kicking some dice upward and then knocking them right at Duel.

"What?" Duel gasped before getting a face full of his own dice, "Okay…ow."

Taking the opportunity afforded him, Dark charged full force and smacked Duel upside the head with his tail, knocking him to the ground and breaking the hold his cards had.

"Alright, back in action!" Dark shouted willing back his Keysaber, "Round two!"

Standing up Duel chuckled at his antics, slightly amused he got free.

"Well done Keydan, I see you've learned some new moves." Duel cackled, "Can you dodge the notes?"

Confused at what that meant, Dark was a bit startled when Duel produced what looked like an IIDX deck that had been converted into a gun and began firing notes at him.

"Ack!" Dark shouted, dodging the notes as they exploded in a destructive medley, "What the hell is that thing?"

"What happened? I thought you liked music games!" Duel shouted in glee as he continued peppering the field with fire leaving Dark without an opening, "Feel my Military Splash!"

"That's enough!" Dark growled, batting back the notes and disrupting this discordant beat, "You are no DJ TROOPER!"

With that statement, Dark lunged at Duel eager to put a stop to whatever plan he had…when he simply went right through him.

"Sorry boy, but I've bigger plans to tackle." Duel stated as he phased out through a portal, "Maybe if you're lucky I'll play with you and the others before destroying this world."

With those cryptic words Duel disappeared leaving a rather enraged Dark behind.  
"COWARD!" Dark shouted, flaring his ki and somewhat unsettling the crowd, "Ugh…dammit."

"…Such an anticlimactic finale to this run by our newcomer; however let us give it up for your ace of affection, your artist of action, and your awe-inspiring ass-kicker: DARKNESS SHADE!" The announcer shouted at the battles end.

Though Dark had not wanted a win this way, the crowd still cheered away and so he played it up, waving and showboating a little bit before heading back down to check on Red.

"There he is!" Toffee shouted as Dark's elevator descended, "He doesn't look too happy."

"Heh, I wouldn't be too if I had to win like that." Red chuckled as Dark walked over to them, "Tough match."

"Yeah…that snake got away but at least we know which one it is this time." Dark replied with a sigh, "So how about you? You're awake now so that's a plus."

"Yeah, talk about a crazy attack." Red groaned, rubbing the back of his head, "Never thought you'd do something like that."

"I'm just full of surprises I guess." Dark chuckled, "Anyway, I guess we're done until your sister gets back with Reps and Elh so in the meanwhile I'm starving! We're can we get some grub!"

Laughing, Red stood up and led Dark to the restaurant section of the ship as the two finally could unwind from such a harrowing experience…

Pharaoh

"Alright Miss Opera, we'll let you know when we've finished the mission!" Calua shouted as he and Ryan disembarked, "You ready dude?"

"Heh, you know it! Let's go kick this things butt…well, when we find it that is!" Ryan shouted back, "I'm so amped! It's finally our turn!"

"I know dude, those two got just a might bit too much screen time." Calua groaned, "We'll just have to make up for it then."

"At least we'll probably get more than Gren and Yosh did." Ryan chuckled, "But enough fourth-wall abuse…let's get a move on!"

Figuring the best place to check for clues would be the Quest Broker; the two of them made their way to the one in Pharaoh and found Flo to be in quite the tizzy.

"What seems to be the matter cutie?" Ryan asked trying to break her from her crazed state, "Um, miss?"

"Huh? Oh…bonjour." Flo replied rather sadly, "Wait…your Calua right? Maybe you and your strangely pale, furless friend there can help."

"Is she talking about me?" Ryan gasped, "I'm not that pale…am I?"

"Well, maybe this has something to do with what we're here for." Calua whispered to Ryan, "Let's find out what she needs help with."

"You'll help? Oh thank you very much!" Flo replied back in thanks, "So then, there has been tell of a strange creature that apparently likes music a little too much…and see, that means the music concert at the park I've been looking forward to for so long might be cancelled since they don't want to put their star idol in danger."

"Wait, are you talking about Cocona?" Calua asked, "Dude, she's like super popular and stuff."

"…who?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"…you don't know who she is?" Flo asked in disbelief, "I'm surprised someone doesn't know of her; do you live under a rock in a cave?"

"…look, do you want our help or not?" Ryan grumbled out slightly annoyed.

"I'm sorry…I'm sorry." Flo apologized, "Anyway…if you guys can stop this thing then I can go to my concert!"

"So you said it's attracted to music dude?" Calua asked.

"Yes, it seems to like Pop and Trance in particular." Flo explained, "If you find a quiet spot and play it I'm sure it'll appear and then you can beat it up!"

"Pop and Trance huh?" Ryan mused, "Too bad Yoshitaka and Sota aren't here…they'd definitely draw that thing out of hiding with their beats."

"Who dude?" Calua questioned, confused at the name dropping.

"…don't mind me, just being silly." Ryan replied, "Anyway…let's go acquire said tunes and see what will come!"

Making their way to the hustling and bustling entertainment district, the two heroes made their way to the nearest record store only to be stopped by a rather…unique looking individual.

"Whoa dudes, I can tell you certainly know how to feel those cosmic waves." Stated a strange individual, "Especially that hairless dude…his aura speaks of musical connection."

"Again with that…what do you mean?" Ryan asked, a little confused at this character's words.

"Ah, pardon my rudeness dude, my name is Iggy."

Ryan looked over this rather odd Caninu for quite some time and finally determined that maybe just asking for what he needed would be the best option.

"The cosmic waves tell me that you are seeking music…" Iggy stated to the duo.

"Dude…that's right! How'd you know that?" Calua gasped in surprise.

"The waves know all man. So what types are floating your way today?" Iggy asked, somewhat off-handedly tuning his instrument.

"We need the best Pop and Trance you've got." Ryan replied, "We're trying to capture something that's attracted to those genres so the more amazing the better."

"Heh, here you go man; these two have tracks that should rock this characters socks for real!" Iggy replied with a chuckle, handing Ryan two discs.

"Um…thanks dude…hey, wait a minute." Ryan murmured, looking over the two discs, "What? Sobow Furrimori? Lucky Furball? Is this some joke?"

"What do you mean dude?" Calua asked as the two walked away towards an empty spot in the park to set up.

"I just…these sound familiar: State of the Bark, Just a Little Meow, Bark into the Light, Do It Ruff, Spring Comes Around ~Like Your Tail Mix~. And that's just this Furrimori dude." Ryan groaned, "This Lucky Furball dude, I swear Colorful Nom-Bone, Miracle Meows, and Happy Nap…somewhere someone is laughing at me I just know it."

"Um, well, whatever dude I still don't understand." Calua chuckled, "Well, the system is set up so let's lure us in a Nobody."

Nodding, Ryan handed him the discs and they began pumping out the beats hoping to draw out the creature and, well, help out the cute girl with her problem.

"We've been playing for a while now; I wonder where this thing is?" Ryan questioned, getting a little tired and bored.

"I'm sure it'll be here…hmmm, maybe I'll just play one of the discs." Calua stated, switching to just Furrimori's disc and waiting…

Finally, when the duo had just about giving up any type of hope, a strange blur of light appeared and dashed in, snatching the record and spinning to a stop in front of them.

"Hmmm, let's see…lots of zippers, a hoodie, multitude of glow sticks, and that unmistakable symbol." Ryan listed off, readying his Keysaber, "This would be our target Calua let's kick his ass!"

"Finally dude, I was beginning to think maybe we'd never get some action time." Calua replied, firing off a few rounds at the Nobody.

The Nobody easily dodged the blast and spun around, leaping at Calua and spin kicking his mech.

"He's quick." Ryan commented, jumping about and managing to land a blow that dislodged some of his glow sticks; this move was not something the Nobody appreciated as he began to glow an angry red and quickly bear down upon Ryan, "Ack!"

Barely getting a block off, Ryan was thrown backwards into the sound equipment landing with a large crash and wincing as the speakers fell down on him.

"Dude!" Calua shouted seeing Ryan knocked back like that, "My turn then!"

Laying down some scatter fire, Calua piloted his mech in close and took a swing at the Nobody with his halberd managing to chop off another few glow sticks that left it slower than last time.

"Of course…Mr. Rave Master here seems to get his power from those; he's slowed down so let's get the rest of them!" Ryan shouted, shoving the equipment off and standing up, "No escape this time dude!"

Double teaming him, Ryan and Calua approached from opposite angle and dashed in catching the Nobody off-guard; with their precise technique the two goofball protagonists sliced away the rest of its glow sticks and watched it twitch and spaz until it faded into nothingness.

"Dude!"

"Dude!"

With that affirmation, the two high-fived one another at a job well done and made their way back to the Quest Broker's booth…

…only to find that someone besides Flo was there.

"Ah, here they are now." Flo stated at their arrival, "Did you guys take care of that strange creature?"

"Yep…showed up just like you said it would and then we beat it down!" Ryan shouted triumphantly.

"That's so good to hear; now we don't have to cancel your concert Cocona."

"I knew you were being overly worried manager. I suppose you have my thanks then, even if that furless weirdo there has a poor sense of fashion." Cocona scoffed.

"…what the heck? First the furless thing from Flo and now this appearance is deceiving Caninu mocks my clothes." Ryan groaned, "This is not cool dude…"

"Now now, let's not say such things about the two that helped Cocona." Her manager quickly stated, "Here, I'd like you guys to have these for helping."

"Dude! VIP passes to the concert tonight!" Calua shouted excitedly, "Looks like our stay just got extended…maybe…"

Noting Calua was looking at him when he said this; Ryan sighed and signaled they could stay for the concert.

"Besides, knowing the others they probably aren't even done yet." Ryan lamented, "Well, let's hope her singing is more pleasant than her personality."

"Heh…I like you…you aren't afraid to talk back to me." Cocona chuckled before walking off with her manager, "See you tonight boys…"

"Flo, you have an interesting taste in artists." Ryan remarked, sighing while Flo merely chuckled at the whole scene, "Well, I don't know about you but I can't remember the last time I ate…let's get something to munch before the concert dude."

"Sounds like a good plan to me dude; there's this one place that…" Calua began as the two walked on ready for a little relaxation.

A couple hours later night had begun to fall on the city and the park was decked out in all types of stage equipment for Cocona's little show.

"Heh, I'm impressed at the speed they got this whole thing ready in." Ryan remarked from backstage with Calua, "So just how popular is this Cocona chick again?"

"Last I checked dude she was just shy of getting back the number one spot on the charts." Calua explained, "I like listening to her stuff with Miss Opera but Gren just groans when I put it on."

"Not a fan of J-Pop then I guess…sounds like someone I know." Ryan chuckled before noting the lights had dimmed and the stage lights began to turn on "Looks like its showtime."

The crowd's slight murmurs soon turned into a huge roar as Cocona took the stage and the music began blaring loudly signaling the start of the concert.

Ryan's head began bobbing and his foot tapping at the beat, something Calua noted and chuckled at.

"What? I guess it's got a good beat…and her lyrics aren't too bad." Ryan replied with a shrug, "Though this is definitely a case of her voice being prettier than her personality."

"Don't hold it against her too much." Her manager replied as he walked over to them, "She just has this issue with not being number one anymore; she thinks she's becoming an old hat."

"Seriously dude?" Calua asked in surprise, "I didn't take her for one of those kinds of people."

"That still doesn't really excuse her being, well, a bitch if you'll excuse my crudeness." Ryan huffed, "I guess she's at least cute…till she opens her mouth."

"Well…I won't say you can't have your own opinion about it." Her manager chuckled, "Just don't let her get to you too much."

Having been engrossed with their discussion, neither one of them noticed a strange character making it's (her?) way through the crowd and shoving people aside until…

"Eek! What's that thing!" Cocona shouted as a strange, short little zippered creature gracefully flew onto the stage, "What's with that tacky dress and all those cell phone charms?"

"Shit…we missed one!" Ryan shouted in surprise, "But I thought there was only one?"

"Dude, I think I get it…I only played the Trance song and that's the one that showed up." Calua started, only for Ryan to finish, "Which means when her Pop started up, the other one came running…stupid faulty info!"

Nodding at him, the two jumped onto the stage and got between Cocona and the Nobody; something Cocona was quite annoyed with.

"I thought you took care of this thing?" Cocona whispered angrily at Ryan.

"Look…we were told there was one…I have an idea though; keep singing and pretend its part of the show." Ryan whispered back.

"Will that work dude?" Calua asked, a little unsure of this plan.

"Trust me; audiences in these stories believe anything!" Ryan reaffirmed, quickly dashing to attack the Nobody.

Cocona realized she didn't have much of a choice and resumed singing as Ryan and Calua tried their best to take care of the very agile enemy.

"I can't land a hit dude!" Calua shouted, missing with his halberd and flailing about, "She's too quick."

"Hmmm…a Pop loving enemy; so what do people that like Pop also like?" Ryan thought as he tried to land a hit, "Aha! I've got it! Follow my lead Calua!"

Stepping back, Ryan began to do some funky ParaPara moves which soon got the whole crowd going…though Calua trying to do them in his mech was quite a silly sight.

The Nobody, intrigued by this development, soon joined in and began to get lost in the dance moves.

'That's right…keep following us.' Ryan thought as he increased his intensity while winding his way closer to the creature.

At this point the creature was quite engrossed in the dance moves and was unaware as Ryan whirled behind it, pulled out his Keysaber in a flawless twist, and then plunged it right through the creature.

"Let the music be free baby!" Ryan shouted as the Nobody twitched and screamed in a high-pitched voice before phasing out into sparkly glitter that floated over the crowd.

At that same moment Cocona had finished singing and the crowd, having seen the display and now the shininess of the glitter confetti, threw their hands up in excitement and cheered loudly.

"Heh, dude that was some crazy stuff there." Calua laughed at the whole exchange, "You were right though, the crowd ate it all up."

"I know my audience, that's for sure." Ryan replied with a wink, "Well, let's take a bow and then exit stage right."

"…okay, I have to admit that was pretty impressive." Cocona stated afterwards, "I don't know if I can top this concert though."

"Heh, I'm sure you can dude." Calua replied, "I still don't know how you did those crazy moves though."

"Lots of practice and a whole lot of not caring how silly I look doing it." Ryan explained, "And a compliment from you? Heh that is something."

"…whatever; I'm hungry now after all that so I'm leaving." Cocona grumbled, grabbing her manager and taking off, "…your clothes don't seem so lame now though."

Ryan merely shook his head and signaled to Calua that he too was quite famished after all that dancing…fighting…dance-fighting and made a beeline for the nearest café.

"Dude, there is no way anyone else is having a crazier time than the two of us…maybe." Calua chuckled, amped up at how awesome things were going, "I'll let Miss Opera know we're done so she can come pick us up…"

Vizsla

"Bugs…why is it always bugs? Why can't I just not have to deal with the icky, squicky, nasty bugs?" Elh lamented as Chocolat docked the ship.

"Ah, don't be like that." Chocolat responded, nodding at Reps, "This crazy raccoon dog dude is gonna keep you safe and protected."

"You know, when someone cute says that it doesn't really bother me." Reps joked, "Stop stressing Elh, no bugs will, um, bug you while we're here."

"You guys should go check the Quest Broker; if anything is going on I'd wager Red's Nom-bone collection that someone's requested help." Chocolat stated before hearing a beep on the radio, "Huh? Oh, hey guys…what? You're done already? What about Dark? How did they…okay, I'm on my way just try to keep them off him."

"Something wrong?" Elh asked, waiting to see if they were needed.

"I've got to go pick up those two…seems Dark has garnered quite a bit of attention and, well, it's overwhelming him a bit." Chocolat sighed, "You two get working on your mission and I'll pick you up later."

"But what if they…" Elh tried to state before Reps grabbed her and dragged her off the ship, "Noooooo…."

"Come on, we've got work to do…bugs or no bugs." Reps groaned as Elh's feet dragged through the dirt.

Chocolat sweatdropped slightly at the sight before taking off for the Duel Ship and eventually Reps got Elh to walk on her own.

"This sucks so much; well, let's go see Flo and find out what the story is." Elh suggested as the two headed towards the Quest Broker.

"This place has some huge mushrooms…I feel like I took a wrong turn at that Warp Zone that's for sure." Reps joked, to which Elh just replied with a very confused look, "…never mind; is that it there?"

"Yep, that's the place." Elh replied, noting Flo had seen them, "Hi Flo, how's it going?"

"Ah bonjour Elh; where's Red at today? Did you find some new guy?" Flo joked, eyeing Reps.

"She's in a maid outfit…" Reps flatly stated, his eyes a little twitchy, "Oh my…"

"Reps?" Elh asked, a little confused, "Wait…do you…have a maid fetish?"

At this Reps' eyes turned a bright pink and he quickly dismissed it, his hands waving all about.

"Me? Maids? Why that's such a silly thought it should wear a silly hat!" Reps shouted before noting his behavior wasn't really helping his case, "…fine…maybe…I do like the maid outfit thing…it's cute."

After that admission, Reps merely stared at the ground and poked his fingers together in embarrassment.

"Ah, he's so cute." Flo replied breaking the silence, "I have so many people that like me but he seems so sincere."

"Riiiiiiiight…" Elh sighed heavily, "Anyway, have there been any requests involving strange creatures…even if I might regret asking that."

"Ah, yes, there has been something the Mayor has been worried about for a while now." Flo answered, "You should go ask him, he's at his house as usual."

"Thanks Flo." Elh replied, grabbing Reps' hand and pulling him behind her, "Come on you…"

"Nice meeting you…" Reps quietly said as they headed off.

"What was all that about?" Elh asked him once they were out of earshot.

"Look, it's awkward for me." Reps admitted, "Ryan's got someone, even though she's kidnapped right now…Dark has someone even if she's an incredibly advanced sentient bio-android…and eventually Yosh will have someone interesting, heh, that's gonna be fun. The point is though I don't have anyone yet…and well, I do have some silly likes that might make it hard in addition to being a cybernetic raccoon dog, er, I mean hedgehog…"

"…you guys sound really weird." Elh groaned, "But…I think I can understand seeing as there's someone that's pretty dumb, and thick-headed, and impulsive that I still seem to care for dearly."

"…heh, Mr. Hunter and you _are_ an item. I knew it." Reps chuckled, "He doesn't seem like he's come out and admitted it to you though."

"Well, he's not the smoothest player out there; maybe that friend of yours, Dark was it, will rub off on him a little." Elh chuckled, "Anyway, it would appear we're here."

Sure enough, just a short distance from them was what appeared to be the mayor of Vizsla in front of a rather large house.

"Ah, I know you lot." The Mayor stated seeing Elh and Reps approach, "Didn't you have a fella on a mech?"

"He's busy so we're the, um, B team." Reps quickly stated, "Flo mentioned you had a problem of sorts."

"One that probably involves bugs…" Elh sighed.

"Eh? Oh, right; it would seem some new bug thing is taking all the nectar being produced and completely messing up the ecosystem." The Mayor explained, "We've tried all we can but even our greatest Bug Masters can't stop this beast; if it's not stopped we'll be ruined."

"Well, despite her protests we'll do all we can to help." Reps offered while keeping a tight grip on Elh.

"That'd be downright peachy." The Mayor shot back with a smile, "Well, the best place would be to enter down below my house; it's attracted to nectar so use that against it."

"Gotcha." Reps answered back, picking up and tossing Elh on his back, "I'll protect you from the bugs, I promise!"

"…um…thanks." Elh mumbled out, a little embarrassed by how Reps picked her up, "So what's the plan?"

"That's your plan!" Elh shouted after she and Reps had gathered a massive amount of nectar.

"Well, it seems the simplest; on a side note I now see why you would hate bugs here, these damn things are huge!" Reps shouted with a sweat drop, "It should show up any moment and then, BLAM! I'll take that sucker down hard."

"And just how are you planning to fight this thing?" Elh asked, "I notice unlike your human companions you don't have any magic weaponry."

"Oh, well that's cause it's built into me." Reps stated, morphing his hand into a blaster, "See?"

"Well…I guess that answers my question then. I suppose you can be handy." Elh replied with a small smile.

"Ah, a joke; that's good you're loosening up finally." Reps laughed as the two waited…and waited…and waited.

"Not that I'm complaining, but where's the big bug thing?" Elh asked impatiently, "This is getting tiresome…"

Eventually some smaller bugs were attracted to the nectar and Reps had to keep shooing them away which proved a little ineffective as they just kept coming back.

"Eeek! These stupid bugs!" Elh shouted, shivering in fright, "Get rid of them!"

"I'm trying here; I'm just one man robot hedgehog thing after all!" Reps shouted, knocking them all away, "It's not like I can shoot them, they're vital to the ecosystem here right?"

Eventually Elh had finally had enough and growled in frustration.

"I've had it with these monster furball insects all up in my magnificent furry face!" Elh shouted angrily, "Taste my NoNo!"

With her forehead glowing a bright red, Elh shot her hands out and easily brushed aside all the insects sending them back to where they belonged.

"So you can fight." Reps chuckled with a grin, "So, um, about your NoNo place…"

"Don't...just know it's magic." Elh replied with a sigh, "Hey I just realized I fought off the bugs on my own…"

"Wonder if you're over your fear then…" Reps suggested before hearing a loud humming noise, "Eh? What's that?"

"EEEK!" Elh screamed, jumping on top of Reps as a huge, beastly insect began drawing near.

"That sure didn't last long. Hmmm, let's see…zippers on its legs, a strange symbol on that rather grotesque bulb on its back, and erratic twitchy movements." Reps murmured as it drew close, "Either you're cutting the blood off to my head and I'm hallucinating or that's our target."

"Do something!" Elh shouted, freaking the hell out, "It's huge and it's coming for me!"

"Um…um…I've got it!" Reps shouted, moving Elh off of his head and then diving into the nectar, coating him in it, "Hey Mr. Ugly-Ass insect, care for some fast-food?"

Having caught its attention, Reps began running for his life as the much larger than he thought insect began gaining on him.

"Oh dear God what part of me thought this screamed good idea?" Reps yelled as he felt it get closer, "Because that part is a raving idiot!"

Unfortunately for our poor hero, he was soon unable to outrun it and then…CHOMP!

"I hope I give you the runs!" Reps shouted angrily as he was eaten.

"REPS!" Elh shouted as she watched him get gulped, "Oh this is bad…"

Elh felt a little unhappy as the insect made its way back to her before stopping and then looking a little ill.

"Heh, bite off more than you could chew?" Elh asked seeing it began to spaz out, "That's what you get for eating Reps!"

Suddenly the Nobody's stomach began to twitch and move violently before…KABLAM!

Out shot a large burst of plasma as well as most of the creatures innards form the right side of the body as Reps emerged covered in all sorts of unpleasantness.

"REPS! You're okay!" Elh shouted happily though she was a bit squicked out from the guts everywhere.

"None can stop the Ghost of Sparta!" Reps shouted with the terrible force of a God.

"…what?" Elh asked her eyes tiny dots at what had just transpired.

"…Sorry, that trip into that things stomach messed with my brain a little and triggered what I call my reference files." Reps explained, crawling out of the creature that soon dissipated into the ether, "Oh lovely, the rest of it vaporizes but the bits on me continue to cling and make me fell icky."

"I'd hug you but seeing as you're covered in disgusting bug bits you'll have to settle for me being glad you're okay." Elh replied, "Well, that takes care of that…let's get the hell out of here and head back to the surface; hopefully Chocolat will be back soon…"

With that the two of them soon reported back to the Mayor and let him know that all was as it should be, though the Mayor was apologetic that Reps ended up the way he did.  
"I'll be fine once I can clean off…speaking of which." Reps stated as he saw the Asmodeus drawing near, "There's our ride Elh…let's get going."

"You don't have to tell me twice…and, um, thanks for protecting me." Elh quickly stated before they boarded the ship, "I have something you might want; remind me to give it to you later."

"…um, okay. Thanks Elh."

The Asmodeus

"Oh man, what happened to you Reps?" Dark asked in laughter, "You look horrible."

"I, um, got eaten by a bug; in retrospect it seemed a good idea to take it out from the inside like that but…well, I need cleaned up." Reps replied with a sigh.

"Well I need some cleaning up too." Dark added with his own groans, "After those fights and the that whole incident at the food court…needless to say I feel a little grungy and, I might add, a little violated too…those hands were grabbing everywhere."

"What the hell happened?" Reps asked in surprise, "Did the whole crowd try to jump you or something?"

"It's a long story…" Dark started as the two walked to the shower room.

"Hey Red, what did happen?" Chocolat asked Red after those two had left.

"…even I'm not sure; let's just say he seems to be good at attracting trouble." Red sighed while shaking his head.

"Sounds like someone I know." Chocolat slyly shot back with a roll of her eyes, "Hey, have you seen Elh?"

"You know, I've not seen her since we met back up." Red admitted, "I wonder where she went."

"Ugh, those darn bugs again." Elh sighed, clothes in one hand and a towel wrapped around her, "I always feel so unclean till I wash off…"

Not really paying attention, Elh didn't exactly hear the shower running already and the quiet sounds of someone cleaning off.

"Well, let's take care of that then and finish up." Elh mumbled before setting her clothes down and pulling open the curtain…only to see Dark and Reps cleaning up.

"…"

"…"

Both Dark and Reps were at a loss for words at this turn of events and didn't know what to say until…

"Eeek!" Elh shouted, slapping Dark as he was the closest one.

"…hey! I'm the one in the shower; I should be the one angry here!" Dark shouted with a sigh, "How did you not hear the water running?"

"…I've had a lot on my mind." Elh stated with a blush, trying her best not to stare at the two of them, "I…um…uh…just let me know when you're done!"

With that Elh ran off and locked herself in a side room to try and calm down some.

"Jeez…it's pretty bad when the girls start spying on me man." Dark commented to Reps as he finished showering, "At least it wasn't embarrassing for you dude…you technically go around naked all the time as it is."

"…I guess that's one way to put it." Reps coughed as he rinsed the sludge from the bug out of his blaster parts, "I am part robot so I mean…well…did you see that blush dude?"

"Heh…you know I did; she's a little young but man is she a cutie." Dark chuckled, "If I didn't know any better I'd say you've a crush on her."

"…well, she already likes someone so I'm not letting that build anymore." Reps admitted with a touch of sadness in his voice, "Anyway, let's finish up since we'll probably be back at the Golden Roar soon."

Nodding in agreement the two finished up, Dark getting dressed and then knocking on the door to let Elh know things were free…and that next time she asks for permission before getting frisky.

"I WAS NOT!"

"Sure, Elh, sure…see you up top." Dark chuckled as he and Reps left for the bridge…

Golden Roar

"You guys were fishing?" Ryan asked Yoshino as him and Calua boarded the ship, "Glad to see both of us had some goofy adventures."

"Dude, you missed out on some awesome fun!" Calua shouted in excitement, "There was dancing and music and, oh yeah, fighting!"

"I'm sure it was…enjoyable." Gren sighed, "I still think I could've done with some more sake Yoshino."

"Eh, best not to indulge too much." Yosh chuckled, "Well at least we all seemed to pull things off without a hitch; now we just need to wait for the other two pairs to get back here."

"Speaking of them…isn't that the Asmodeus right there?" Ryan asked, pointing at a dot in the distance growing larger, "At least, I hope it is…"

"What would you think it is?" Calua asked, "A giant bird dude?"

"With our luck I wouldn't be surprised."

As the Asmodeus pulled up and docked, the group quickly noted that Elh was acting a little odd around Dark and Reps.

"…do I even want to ask?" Yosh questioned staring at Dark.

"Hey, in my defense I was already in there!" Dark quickly shouted, drawing a line of sweat drops from the others, "…regardless, I think we've got a solid lead on who's behind this..."

"So his name is Duel." Gren stated, "He sounds like a very tricky individual."

"Dude, you fought with music too! That's awesome!" Calua shouted, "Well, except the whole him getting away part…that might be bad."

"I still don't get what he might be trying to do." Ryan interjected as he scratched his head, "He mentioned ending this world but…how could he do that?"

"You were talking about something like that earlier, weren't you Dark?" Chocolat asked, poking him over and over, "Huh? Huh?"

"…yes, I was." Dark huffed, "You're lucky you're cute or I'd be more than just annoyed."

"Ah, he thinks I'm cute too!" Chocolat shouted, latching on to him, "So tell us your theory!"

"…I hope she's nonstick; anyway he could be going after the heart of your world. If that's taken out then poof goes the rest of the world." Dark explained, his movement limited by Chocolat's glomping, "That's the only thing that would fit with what he said."

"So then, where is this heart of our world located then?" Red asked whilst trying to pry Chocolat off of Dark with a crowbar.

"It usually would be located somewhere important but out of the way where no one would normally be able to get to it." Ryan answered as he helped Red, prying Chocolat off of Dark but sending her glomping right onto Yosh.

"…you know, at this point it doesn't even surprise me anymore." Yoshino sighed as he easily dislodged Chocolat from his person, "Behave little one…"

"Okay." Chocolat replied with a wag of her tail, "Somewhere we can't get to normally…"

"I think I've got it figured out…" Elh finally spoke up, "It would have to be below the Sea of Clouds and there's only one place we know of down there."

"Futzu Tower." Béluga stated, surprising everybody and making them jump, "…sorry."

"What's this about a tower?" Ryan asked, "You mean something is below those crazy clouds?"

"Well, remember the whole story about the humans we told you?" Red asked back, "Yeah…their world is down there."

"At least what's left of it dude…" Calua added, "So you think this Duel character is heading there then?"

"Based on what has been deduced I can think of no better answer." Béluga explained, "Red and the others have been there before so you shouldn't have any trouble…"

And with that Béluga disappeared just as quickly as he'd arrived.

"He really isn't a people person…" Reps sighed, "So then, how do we go about getting down there?"

"…well, we usually call the Master of Clouds." Elh started seemingly a bit nervous, "But…I lost the instrument used to call him somewhere in the Asmodeus and still can't find it."

"WHAT?" Red shouted in confusion, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was hoping I could find it…" Elh sighed, "So without that…we're stuck."

"Um, guys? Hello? Remember us? The crazy humans with the awesomely advanced starship that can beam us where we need to go?" Ryan spoke up whilst making all sorts of crazy hand motions.

"Oh, well that could work." Elh mumbled sheepishly, "I guess we'd just need the coordinates."

"I believe Miss Opera and Merveille could help with that." Gren stated, gesturing towards the control room.

"Sounds like a game plan to me, let's get that info and then have Gilliam send us down!" Dark shouted enthusiastically, "I'm ready to give that ass what's coming to him…how dare he run out on our fight!"

"…it's no wonder that he got into so much trouble." Chocolat sighed as the group went to acquire the needed info.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Opera asked as the group of heroes readied themselves.

"Ah, such concern from you comforts me Ms. Opera." Dark replied with his award-winning smile, "We'll be fine so don't worry."

"Meow, well then I guess I have nothing to worry about." Opera laughed at his antics.

"Alright Gilliam, here's the coordinates." Ryan stated, typing something into his communicator, "When you're ready go ahead and send us."

"Acknowledged; do try to be careful." Gilliam cautioned before engaging the transporter.

"Heh, we'll be fine; we can't be beat!" Red shouted energetically before the group disappeared.

"…I can only hope that to be true." Merveille murmured after they'd disappeared.

One transporter beaming later…

"Ugh…oh man, I'm gonna hurl this time dude!" Calua groaned as he headed for the nearest bush and well…you can figure it out.

"Don't feel bad Calua." Ryan remarked as he pat on the back, "I did the same thing at first; like I said you'll get used to it."

"I hope so dude…anyway, I suppose that's that tower over there?" Calua asked as he composed himself.

"Oh yeah, you and Gren haven't been here before." Red mused, "It's not really much to look at besides this tower."

"So humanity really did lead to their own demise in the end." Yosh huffed, "Figures…"

"Yes yes, humanity and all that jazz are doomed." Reps groaned, "Look, shall we stand here chatting like ladies (no offense Elh and Chocolat) or go in there and stop Duel?"

"Heh, he's gotten spunky lately." Dark chuckled, "Okay, let's go see what's up!"

'Strange…Yurlungur didn't greet us when we arrived like she normally does.' Red thought as the group headed towards the tower.

As our group entered the tower, a disembodied voice soon greeted them.

"Ah, you've returned…unfortunately I believe I know what you seek."

"Yurlungur? How come you didn't greet us when we landed?" Red asked concerned by her behavior.

"That would be my doing." Duel cackled as an image of him appeared, "It took the lot of you long enough to get here; you might actually be able to make it here in time if you hurry."

"I can't seem to fight his control…I'm afraid that I can offer no assistance in this matter." Yurlungur lamented to the group, "Please watch out!"

"Dude, controlling a cute cyber chick? That's low!" Dark growled in anger, "I'm going to slice and dice you to bits when we get there!"

"Heh, bring it on Keydan; I'm just itching to put you in your place." Duel bellowed before disappearing and leaving the group highly irritated…well, except for Yosh and Gren of course, those guys are crazy stoic!

"Heh, looks like the author dudes poking fun at you again." Calua chuckled as Gren rolled his eyes, "Unfortunately it seems troubles brewing."

"What the heck are those things?" Ryan asked as he drew his Keysaber.

"Guardians! Okay guys, let's rumble!" Red shouted, charging into the fray with Dahak.

"Heh, I just had a wonderful idea!" Dark shouted, "Hey Red, follow my lead!"

Winding back, Dark hit the Guardian towards Red who knocked it back and thus Dark and he continued this until Dark finally missed and the Guardian exploded.

"Ah man, I never really did have the patience for a full game of Pong." Dark joked at having lost, "Oh well, there's plenty more where that came from!"

After an oddly paced battle involving swords, bullets, some odd phrasing in Japanese, and a strangely choreographed mecha battle from the furry trio the Guardians were dust and the path was clear.

"Seriously, that looked so planned by you guys!" Reps shouted as the group hurried on to the next floor.

"It was just a strange coincidence." Red sighed, both he and Dahak sweat dropping.

"Besides dude, look at Gren; do you really think we could hook him into something like that?" Calua asked as they came upon an elevator.

"I don't know, he and Yosh are quite alike and we've gotten him to do some crazy stuff." Dark chuckled, "Anyway, I'm guessing up is the way so let's go!"

"…I swear ever since you've arrived it's been far too crazy." Elh moaned, "…and yet…it's been kind of fun."

"That's the spirit!" Chocolat shouted, "Now let's go save the heart of the world!"

"Someone's a little too excited." Gren groaned, "I suppose the sooner we do this the sooner normalcy returns."

"…jeez, are we that bad?" Ryan asked, "It's just harmless shenanigans after all…heh, I wonder if that makes him Mr. Gren-poopy-pants?"

"Dude, I'm so gonna have to use that from now on." Calua remarked as the elevator came to a halt, "Looks like this it!"

"Duel…you won't succeed this time!" Dark roared as the group bust into the control room…and then immediately face faulted at the sight that greeted them, "WTF?"

"Um…this isn't what it looks like?" Duel quietly stated as he was currently wearing a very pretty pink ribbon, "I…um…she…uh…dammit!"

"…is this what usually happens with you guys?" Gren asked, clearly reaching some type of breaking point.

"Well, I decided to have some fun with him." Yurlungur chuckled, "I couldn't help you but…I felt that feeding him misinformation about some items would embarrass him."

"Heh, he looks so precious." Ryan laughed, "I guess they just didn't have the matching dress in your size, huh?"

"Ugh! Argh!" Duel shouted, ripping off the ribbon and flying up above our group, "You fools! I'm going to end all life here and get all the hearts we need!"

"What the heck is he talking about?" Yosh questioned unsure of Duel's move.

"He couldn't be trying to use CODA could he?" Red asked, "No…he shouldn't be able to start that sequence, not after what we did last time!"

"Heh…guess the wittle doggie got it right! You shouldn't have messed with the Organization!" Duel shouted, pushing some buttons on a nearby console, "Initiate Operation CODA!"

"NO!" shouted the group as the machinery hummed.

"…"

"Huh? I said initiate Operation CODA!" Duel shouted when nothing happened, pushing the buttons and then slamming them violently, "Eh?"

A huge, familiar looking smilie sticking its tongue out was splashed on the screen clearly indicating that he had no access to that and then as if to drive the point home, a familiar looking sword smacked him upside the head and sent him plummeting to the ground hard.

"Huh? There's a logo…wait a nano!" Reps shouted, "Look at that logo!"

"…CyberConnect? No…no no no!" Ryan shouted in panic, "That can't be…there's no way that's possible, not at all!"

"That doesn't make any sense!" Dark growled, "How could they be…I mean…then that…that would mean!"

"…that CyberConnect was responsible for the end of the world." Yosh grimly stated, "I guess putting people in comas via MMO's wasn't enough for them."

"Um, dude, what's gotten into them all of a sudden?" Calua questioned, rather confused at their sudden loss of sanity.

"…well, there goes Ryan." Chocolat sighed as he was babbling incoherently and running around in madness.

"Could someone explain just what is so crazy about that logo?" Red asked with a sigh, "Dark?"

"Right…right…well, we know who CyberConnect is…well, was." Dark began explaining, "And you see it's like this…"

"A game? They were a gaming company?" Gren gasped in confusion, "How could something like that gain such power?"

"It's a long story, but basically in that timeline something completely crashed a system of computer networks called the Internet; they happened to be one of the only companies to survive and flourish." Dark summarized, "Unfortunately their game was beyond what even they knew and put people in jeopardy time and time again. They tried to upgrade it and fix things but they never could completely come to terms with just what The World truly was."

"…sorry about that guys my mind just kind of broke a bit there at that realization." Ryan remarked, finally back among the (mostly) sane.

"I surprised you know of such records." Yurlungur interjected, "However, seeing as you are indeed humans I should expect no less."

"Well, thankfully we're from somewhere where humanity hasn't gotten that stupid yet." Yosh replied with a sigh, "Yet…"

"…I'm not sure I follow any of this nonsense." Elh huffed, "Oh, whatever happened to that Duel fellow?"

"I don't know, he's just kind of sitting there in the ground." Red noted, pointing at his still body.

"Heh, after being denied by Azure Kite and getting smacked by the Terror of Death's Edge Punisher self I would be too." Ryan joked, "Still, he hasn't vanished so I think he's still alive."

"…hate you…hate you all so much." Duel moaned as he picked himself up off the ground, "Fine…if I can't have the heart I can at least take down the accursed Key wielders!"

With that declaration, Duel pulled out twin IIDX guns and took aim at Ryan and Dark.

"I'll make you pay for mocking me in such a manner; you and those damn eyes of yours!" Duel growled as he unloaded note after note at our heroes.

"What the hell is he talking about?" Ryan shouted as he dodged and knocked back the attack.

"I think it has something to do with our other, Keydan." Dark replied, barely avoiding a piano run, "I think he didn't get along well with him."

"You always looked at me so smugly with those damn eyes!" Duel roared, throwing his arms out and summoning forth a massive army of Nobody Pop-kun, "My DJ army will finally get the look I've longed to see on your face: FEAR!"

"This dude is totally off the deep end!" Calua chuckled as he swatted the invading Pop-kuns back at Duel, "You need to chill out a bit."

"…you guys really know how to piss someone off." Red remarked as he grabbed a nearby Pop-kun and flung it at Duel, knocking him off balance.

"The funny thing is those two idiots don't even remember any of this." Reps remarked, firing off a few rounds as he dodged the attacks.

"…this is silly." Gren remarked as he sliced and diced the Pop-kun, "…but at least it's got a good beat."

"We've got to end this soon." Dark growled, "His erratic firing could hit anyone…and I won't have anyone hurt."

Looking over at Red and formulating an idea, Dark ran over and grabbed Red's attention.

"Dude, Trance out!"

"What the heck are you doing?" Red questioned at his actions, "Oh, wait…I think I get you."

"Exactly…time for a little speedball action while the others distract him." Dark explained, waiting for Red to transform.

"ARGH!" Red shouted as he changed his form and then grabbed Dark with his arms, "Make this count!"

"You know I will! Fire!" Dark shouted as Red threw him as hard as he could at Duel, "Hey Duel, guess what?"

"What? Huh? You!" Duel shouted as he was caught off-guard and unable to form a counterattack.

"You shouldn't have let me build all those Pop-kun combos, because now you'll know the fury of my FEVER!" Dark growled, slashing into him and smashing him back into the ground.

"…that was a terrible!" Yosh groaned as Duel hit the ground hard, his Pop-kun army vanishing from sight, "Guess that did it."

As our heroes made their way over to Duel's body, they could tell he was done for.

"…I guess…I was wrong…" Duel murmured as he felt himself disappearing.

"About what?" Ryan asked in confusion.

"…your eyes; they weren't looking at me smugly…it was pity." Duel coughed as he began to fade, "…you gave everyone that look…except for Tekka; heh…it's silly. A Nobody with compassion for other Nobodies…"

With those final words Duel's body completely vanished, leaving behind nothing to ever note he was there save for the scars of battle.

"I know he's one of them and the Organization is our enemy but…I still can't help feeling they got a raw deal." Ryan glumly stated, "They just want their lives back…"

"…but they're going about it all wrong." Dark added.

"To do the wrong things in order to get the right results…" Yosh started to say.

"…is something no one can take honor in." Gren finished, leaving the group to stare and then laugh at their antics, "Ugh…."

"Is it all over?" Elh stated, lowering the shield that was protecting her and Chocolat.

"It looks that way…they beat that guy up good!" Chocolat shouted, running over and glomping on to Yosh, "Way to go you guys!"

"…again?" Yosh groaned as the whole group had a good laugh.

"Thank you for freeing me orphans of humanity…and I suppose those of humanity yet to foolishly wrong themselves." Yurlungur stated as the group finished unwinding from battle, "Perhaps the CyberConnect you know of will not be as foolish…"

"Heh, we'll see." Ryan smirked as the group returned outside of Futzu Tower and waited for Gilliam to beam them back to…

The Golden Roar

After returning to inform Opera and Merveille of their success, the groups realized that it was probably almost time for goodbyes.

"Almost dude, you still have to keep your promise." Calua reminded them as they headed towards a large open room, "This should be a good place to teach us, right?"

"Oh yeah, Dark missed out on that joke." Ryan laughed, "Sure, we'll help teach you how to fly."

"What? They can fly?" Elh asked having been unaware this whole time, "…why am I always the last to know?"

As Ryan carefully instructed Calua, who'd been joined by Red, how to properly focus their energy, Gren merely stood aside with Yosh and watched the antics.

"Aren't you interested?" Yosh asked Gren who merely shrugged.

"If I ever need to learn, I have no doubt Calua would be more than eager." Gren replied with a light chuckle, "You sure have your hands full with them don't you?"

"Well, it seems Calua more than equals the two of them so I think we're both in the same boat." Yosh joked as he watched Calua try to awkward float for a brief moment and then crash back down.

"DUDE! I did it for like a few seconds there!" Calua shouted in joy, "I'll get this soon enough…if he doesn't quit showing off."

"Well, to be fair, Red does seem a little more in tune with his energies." Ryan replied at seeing Red managing to hover well enough, "I suppose that has to do with his whole Trance mode ability."

"I won't give up!" Calua shouted, focusing again and managing to stay in the air this time, "HAH! Check me out Gren!"

"…sigh." Gren groaned, waving back to acknowledge him before returning to his conversation with Yoshino.

Murmuring something in Japanese, Yoshino finally got Gren to laugh as the two just shook their heads and noted it was about time to part ways.

"Ah! Well I'm getting it so I'll keep practicing dude!" Calua shouted loudly, overjoyed at his new ability, "I'll be able to fly circles around any trouble!"

"Heh, I have no doubt of that; just don't overdo it." Ryan warned as the group headed to the top deck.

"Well, it's certainly been amusing." Dark chuckled, "Nice to know my counterparts in other worlds can keep up."

"Heh, come back some time later and we'll see who wins a rematch." Red shot back, "Dahak and I don't give up so easily."

"Calua, you are without a doubt the only dude that could be crazier than I am." Ryan stated with a laugh, "Take care of your friends dude and keep on rocking."

"Dude, I can't stand goodbyes; I get all emotional." Calua shouted, initially high-fiving Ryan but then giving him a hug.

"Dude…so like me." Ryan chuckled as he hugged him back.

"…those two." Gren and Yosh simultaneously stated before looking at each other, "…silly mirror nonsense."

"Hey Reps…" Elh whispered to him, handing him a photograph, "…I'm sure you'll find your girl out there somewhere so have hope. Oh, and this is for protecting me from the bugs."

As Reps took the photo, Elh gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running back to the others.

"…This must have been what the author had felt in the past." Reps mused before smiling at the photo, "Thank you Elh."

"Meow meow…you boys did a bang up job; are you sure you can't stick around and help?" Opera offered, "The Kurvaz could use strong guys like you around."

"As tempting as that offer may be Ms. Opera, we do have others depending on us." Dark replied back with a wink, "We'll have to come back again someday though, can't let you guys get too lax after all."

"That sounds like an interesting theory…" Merveille chuckled as our heroes waved goodbye and disappeared as they were beamed up to the Outlaw Star.

"So Red, they gave me this design sheet to upgrade the Asmodeus." Chocolat explained, pulling out a sheet from her pocket, "Care to help me make it happen…?"

The Outlaw Star

"Ah, you guys are finally back." Alia stated once the guys beamed back, "It seemed like you were gone for quite a while this time."

"There was a lot to handle on this world, but damn was it fun!" Ryan shouted happily, "What about you guys?"

"All the fun I had should've been illegal." Dark growled contentedly, "And I got to learn that certain backup plans will work."

"At least Gren understood my pain." Yosh sighed before noting Reps was looking over a photo of some kind, "Hey, what've you got there?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Reps quickly mumbled, hiding the photo in his pocket, "So then, where's our next destination Gilliam?"

"As far as I and Ms. Alia can tell, there is a rather large energy signature coming from a location in space quite a distance from here." Gilliam explained, "However I am quite familiar with that region of space so we shouldn't have too much trouble navigating it."

"Sounds good to me, let's start heading that way as soon as we can." Ryan replied, heading to his room, "After all that I am in dire need of a shower…anyone else?"

"…I'm quite good." Dark coughed along with Reps, "So, um, what do you have their Reps?"

"It's private." Reps remarked before heading back to his room, once there Reps pulled out the photo and looked over the memento, "Heh, she's so cute in a maid outfit…"

"Well then, I guess for now Gilliam just keep heading through the night." Dark sighed before heading to the kitchen, "I'm famished…that form of mine is just so taxing."

"Acknowledged." Gilliam replied back as he set the quickest course for the next location in space, "…you know I never got why you programmed me to reply with that specific word."

"It all has to do with an old Disney film from our youth." Dark replied with a mozzarella stick hanging out of his mouth, "Plus it just sounds cool."

"…I see. I suppose I should be thankful you gave a concise answer for once." Gilliam sighed, "Oh well…at least I don't have to worry about having a future with you guys…unlike my last crew."

"You know, you talk about those guys a lot…" Yosh noted, "…I mean, yes, being lost in a poker match is pretty bad but…how bad were these guys?"

"…I'd rather not remember." Gilliam groaned, "Anyway, I'm going to do some maintenance so if you'll excuse me…"

"Hmmm…" Yosh pondered before noting it wasn't worth worrying about and joined Dark in his cheese munching.

Meanwhile, in a certain region of space a group of shady looking characters were gathering as if awaiting something.

"Are we certain this signal is correct?"

"Yes…there is no doubt this is from the XGP."

"Finally; soon the 108 stars will have their revenge for the Anten Seven…"


	16. (Do Not) Take Note

**DDR HEARTS 2 S.E.: (Do Not) Take Note**

**By**

**Darkness Shade**

?

The only sound that can be heard is that of a crumpling noise, much like that one would hear when walking through long grass deep in the forest.

Slowly the sound comes to a stop, showing four familiar heroes unconscious bodies landing in a heap and rolling to a stop in the grass was the source of the sound.

Slowly but surely they begin to come to, grunting and groaning as they open their eyes and attempt to make heads or tails of just where they are…and how they got there to begin with.

"Okay, roll call…everyone here?" Ryan asked, grabbing his head as he stood up.

"Darkness Shade, Ecchi man Number one still active captain!"

"Ugh, you're such a perverted idiot." Reps grumbled, rolling his eyes, "Yoshino, you still with us?"  
"Yeah…I'm still alive, so score one more for us." Yosh sighed, looking about and noting the very dark forest they happened to be in, "So…does anyone remember what happened or just how the hell we came to end up in this forest?"

"I don't know…I remember…searching for that signal and then…hmmm, that's so strange." Ryan sighed, grabbing his head again, "It's like my memory just goes blank from then out until just now when we woke up."

"All I can say is I do not like this forest." Dark growled, his senses going nuts, "I'm not sure what I'm feeling but it is not a good thing, that much is certain."

"Hmmm…" Yosh murmured, looking about and examining their surroundings, "I hate to say it but are best bet might be to just start exploring and hope we find someone that can help us…or something that can explain what where we are anyway."

"As long as we didn't end up in freaking Silent Hill I don't really care where we are." Reps groaned.

"Dark, Reps, you guys take lead since your both the most likely to see everything in the darkness." Ryan stated, trying to keep everyone in control so they could solve this mystery, "Okay…let's find out what the hell is going on here guys."

They had walked for a short time, all the while feeling this unnerving sensation creeping along their spines…similar to as if they were being watched.

"That wind certainly doesn't help me stay calm…it's very creepy." Dark growled before blinking, "Hey guys...there's something up there…huh?"

Looking at where Dark had been pointing, they saw nothing but a bunch of trees and a strange collection of large rocks.

"…there isn't anyone there Dark; are you seeing things dude?" Ryan asked before feeling Reps tap him, "Huh? What is it dude?"

"I'm not sure what's causing it but…for the briefest of moments, right when Dark said he thought he saw something, there was this strange glitchy interference in my ocular sensors and my vision got all static-y for a few moments." Reps explained, "When I rewind my memories I don't' see anything that could've caused it but…I'm beginning to think we aren't alone out here."

Yosh tensed, seeing something as they had been walking closer to the rock formation, and took on a perplexed look when he noted a white patch on one rock that seemed a bit odd.

"Guys, check this out!" Yosh noted, directing their attention to the odd patch that upon further examination turned out to be a sheet of notebook paper, "That's really strange…it just says…LEAVE ME ALONE and has what appears to be a tree drawn next to it. What the hell?"

The group looked over the note but had no idea what to make of it and so, lacking any clues, they pushed on thinking that perhaps they would find another sheet that might have words on it that made more sense than their first one.

"What the shit?" Reps yelled, jerking his head to the right, "I had another one of those strange distortions again…it was another quick blip that sent static through my ocular sensors but nothing is there."

"I felt that same feeling again too." Dark added, shivering as the fur on his tail stood on end, "I do not like this."

"Then let's add some light to the situation." Ryan quipped, pulling out his Keysaber and flipping it on, "As always, it doubles as a handy light source."

Looking around, the area his Keysaber illuminated didn't seem to reveal any further clues…but in the distance he could make out some kind of truck.

"Oh hey! A truck! If we're lucky that either means someone is nearby that lives out here or, worse case, we can use the truck to get out of this creepy place." Ryan explained as they began walking closer to said truck.

"Hey…is it just me, or has the wind begun to pick up?"

The other three looked at Yosh and noted that he was right; looking at the trees they could tell their leaves were being tossed about much more violently than before.

"Hmm…I have a theory but I really hope I'm wrong." Yosh murmured, "Let's go check out the truck first."

Getting to the truck they could see the door was open…but nobody was in it nor was there any sign of the keys.

"That's not encouraging. Hmmm, no gas either so hotwiring it would be pointless." Ryan sighed, "…oh hey wait! Why don't we just fly away?"

"I thought of that earlier but…" Dark started explaining, trying to gain altitude and making no headway at all, "Something…something about this forest is dampening some of our abilities. At least our ability to fly anyway…even with my wings I can't get up at all."

"Hey guys, take a look at this." Reps stated, motioning at another sheet of paper he'd found, "This one is much more unsettling than that last one."

Looking over the note, they could see that this one said CAN'T RUN.

"…well shit, can't run is right if we can't fly but what the hell do these notes mean? And just why are they out here?" Dark grumbled before shivering again, "Dammit! There's that feeling again…someone _is_ out here with us but…I'm still not sure where."

"…oh dear God!" Reps shouted, jumping at having seen something and latching on to Ryan, "I…what did I just see?"

"Reps! Dude!? Get a hold of yourself!" Ryan noted, slapping him once before prying him free from his leg.

"Well, that static issue came back again, but it was staying steady this time…so I turned towards where it seemed it was coming from and then I saw…I'm not sure." Reps explained, visibly freaked out, "It looked like a person but…something was off. And just like last time, my files have no recording of it…"

"Hmmm….and the wind picked up again…and I swear I hear some type of drumming sound." Yosh added, frowning and biting his lower lip, "Let's keep moving guys…I have a feeling there's more of those notes out here and finding them might be our only chance."

"…I hope you're right Yosh." Ryan sighed, taking the lead as they carried on unaware just who or what was watching them.

Continuing on, and now visibly on edge ever time Reps would jump at noting more static our group of heroes came upon a strange placement of walls.

"Now…what the hell is this supposed to be? I mean, who puts a wall like this in the middle of a forest?" Dark quipped, "It doesn't serve any kind of purpose whatsoever…what are they trying to wall off?"

"…I'm not sure, but this new note doesn't feel me with hope about what might be out here with us." Ryan commented, showing it to the others, "Look at this one: it's got no words on it this time but just trees and…what appears to be a rather tall individual."

"That's him!" Reps shouted, his eyes going wide, "That's what I saw for the briefest of moments after we got the second note!"

Looking around, the group could detect another change in the air, that strange drumming sound now louder and being joined by a very unsettling low-frequency drone.

"Oh dear God…what the hell is going on here?"

As if in answer to Dark's question, Reps felt the static again and whirled around to see the source…and promptly shat a brick.

"The fuck is that thing?!" He shouted, pointing in the distance at a strange figure staring at them from the trees.

"I'm not quite sure…he's got a suit on…and a red tie…but…no, that can't be right." Dark uneasily explained, "I can't really tell from here but…it's almost like this person has no face! Ugh….."

Noting Dark turned away and being curious about it, Ryan raised an eyebrow at his pained expression.

"Okay, going out on a limb but I don't think we should look at this mystery guy." Ryan explained, "Let's just keep moving…I don't' want to fight unless I have to."

Leading the charge the group was now running towards whatever was now in front of them, hoping to put some more distance between them and this strange figure that seemed to be stalking them.

"There's that strange disturbance again." Reps informed the others, "I think it's that guy…whenever he…does something it causes interference for a moment or two. But when he was just there I got a low level static interference."

"So something about him is unbalancing your electronic components then." Yosh deduced as the group slowed their pace as they came upon a strange collection of bare trees, "…okay, gotta say the pattern of these trees being cut like this and arranged in such a way out here is totally creepy."

"Oh dammit! There is another page!" Dark growled, grabbing it and hearing a dinging noise now joining the others in a cacophony of unsettling sensations, "Shit…this one pretty much confirms what you thought Ryan."

Looking at the paper he could see what appeared to be the figure and bolded words stating DON'T LOOK…OR IT TAKES YOU.

"Okay, so we know not to stare at are….ACK!" Ryan screamed, seeing the figure teleporting near them on the left, "Fuck! Run!"

Taking off, they didn't bother to look back, but Ryan had a feeling his Keysaber was making it easier for them to be seen so he shut it off for now, relying on Reps and Dark to be the eyes as they continued on their frantic journey.

Having felt they'd made some headway, our group took a few moments to catch their breath, heading towards what appeared to be a tunnel of some kind.

At this point Reps was quite on edge, looking about at any sound and dreading the next time he detected more interference.

The group paused in the tunnel, trying to collect themselves for a few moments and figure out what the hell was going on.

"Okay…who the hell is this guy? He didn't start showing up until after we picked up that first page so he and them are obviously connected." Ryan whispered in the dark to the others.

"Agreed. And it seems that each time we find a new page, not only do those strange noises get even worse but this guy, he seems to become more aggressive and more pushy, coming closer and closer." Yosh added, leaning back…and feeling something underneath him, "Oh bloody hell…it's another note isn't it?"

Taking it from him, Reps glumly nodded and took a moment to analyze it before his teeth began to chatter in fear.

"Dude…what's it say this time?" Dark asked, noting his odd behavior and taking it from him, "Oh heavens this is not reassuring."

"How about you shed some light on this for those that can't see in the dark bro?" Ryan asked, feeling uneasy again before hearing Reps freak out, "Shit! Let us know as we run…where is he Reps?!"

"Run this way!" Reps shouted, tearing ass with the others in two, "He was at the tunnel entrance this time…he's getting closer dammit!"

"Anyway…the note…it just says FOLLOWS and has another drawing of our "friend" but this one is a little more detailed." Dark explained in between breaths, "He is wearing a suit of some kind…and a tie…but for a head he just has a blank circle."

"…this is getting ridiculous." Yosh huffed, "Reps, are we good?"

Looking about, Reps didn't detect any interference for now and nodded so the group slowed their pace slightly as they continued through the darkness of the forest looking for any other clues that could help them piece together what in heaven's name was going on.

The group spent what seemed a good twenty minutes moving through the trees before they found another location that seemed a bit conspicuous.

"…I do not like that tree." Ryan shivered, feeling a chill run up and down his body, "It's like those creepy trees that came to life in…oh, what was it? That one horror movie…I can't remember the name though."

"Well, I hate to tell you this but we've got to get close to it." Reps nervously stated, "I can make out a patch of white against the trunk so it looks like we've finally found another note."

"Alright guys, you know what that means…once we read it expect that stupid bastard to pop up again." Dark growled in annoyance, walking over and picking it up, "Well shit…that definitely confirms my sightings then….Argh!"

The whole group jumped back, the strange man having popped up rather close to them this time; there was no discussion this time as all four of them ran as fast as they could away from him…and finding it difficult to lose him this time as he seemed to jump around and try to cut them off at every chance he got.

"You sick bastard! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Dark growled in frustration, winding back and throwing a ball of ki at this figure.

The figure seemed to jump just slightly in surprise before inhumanly twisting about to dodge the blast and staring at the scorched tree for a moment before…well Dark wasn't sure how but he got the strangest feeling the figure was smirking, almost amused at this turn of events.

"Oh hell, that is not a good sign is it?" Dark sighed, thankful that at the very least it bought them some extra distance as they ran towards what appeared to be restrooms of some kind.

"So what did the note say this time?" Yosh finally asked as they cautiously made their way towards the restrooms.

"Okay, but you won't like it!" Dark warned before detailing it, "It says ALWAYS WATCHES NO EYES and has what I can only assume is his face, but x's over the eyes denoting he has none."

"That's just wonderful…we're being stalked by some nightmarish humanoid, in the middle of the night…and he's just Ack!" Ryan grumbled before leaping in surprise at seeing the guy popping in to their right, "Uhm…shit! Just run into that building over there!"

"…is it really wise to run into what seems to be an open restroom?" Reps commented, dashing along with the others as he noted the static letting up the further they got from the strange being, "Lord help us, this is getting nuts…what the hell does that guy want with us?"

The other shook their heads as they navigated the blind corners of the bathroom, nervously edging around corners and hoping their stalker wasn't going to pop up right in front of them.

"I can't begin to understand this guy's plan…there's all these notes…speaking of, just found another one." Yosh sighed, picking it up, "Oh how lovely, it just has a picture of our friend and the word NO written all over the place…that feels me with hope! But I just don't get his plan…"

"I know, this doesn't make any sense…" Reps noted, turning a corner and then immediately backpedaling, "Run! Now!"

Not wasting any time to argue, they turned about and headed the way they had come, noting the noises surrounding them had gotten quite intense now that they had acquired what was note number seven at this point.

"He was much closer this time guys…it makes me think we might be nearing the end of his sick game." Ryan suggested as the group ran as fast as they could through the forest before running smack dab into an area surrounded by all sorts of giant propane tanks.

"Okay, nobody fire off a ki blast…we don't want any explosions right now." Dark stated, drawing an odd look from the others, "What? I can have sensible ideas every now and again you know."

"…it's faint, but the static is picking up again." Reps cautioned everyone, looking around nervously for where he was coming from, "Let's just find whatever this next note is and hope that it ends…oh God there he is! Shit!"

Reps freaked out, taking off in a trail of flames as he jetted away as fast as his jump jets could take him, leaving the others to go wide-eyed before bugging out as well as the flames began to spread towards the tanks.

"Oh fuck!"

That was all the others could get out before one of the tanks caught fire and began to hiss, signaling that they needed to get the hell out of the way.

Having narrowly escaped from the chain of explosions that rocked through the forest as each tank went off, the group turned all around and about looking to see if maybe that had put an end to this messed up series of events.

"Hey? What's that?" Dark asked, looking up and seeing a sheet of paper floating down from up above, "Do you think this is the last note?"

"Well, it just says HELP ME in big, bold letters so…I'm thinking maybe." Ryan sarcastically replied, rolling his eyes at Dark.

"Wait, I think he might be right! Listen!" Yosh shouted, as they went quiet.

All that they could hear was the fire burning and crackling, the other mysterious noises that they had heard had just stopped without any rhyme or reason.

"Guys…what the hell is going on? Did we…did we win?" Reps asked, finally coming to his senses and heading back down the tree he'd climbed, "It got silent…and I don't detect any static anymore."

"That strange feeling has gone too." Dark added, looking around and seeing nothing, "…I still don't like this."

Suddenly, and almost too quick for anyone to react, the strange man emerged from the fire and appeared right in front of our heroes; fighting against the strange feeling he got looking at him Ryan had managed to pull out his Keysaber and block…well, it looked like a tendril of some kind.

"What the hell…are you?" Ryan groaned, managing to shove back the rather tall man before dashing back towards the others, "What is all this? What sick game are you playing you bastard?"

"I get the feeling he won't be talking, but those tendrils…that certainly surprised me." Dark chuckled, pulling out his Keysaber, "Looks like we'll get to settle this the way we normally settle our problems…the fun way."

"Be on your guard…I have a feeling this guy is not like any foe we've ever faced before." Yosh cautioned, taking a stance and ignoring the strange sensation he felt at doing such as he stared at their foe, "What is he?"

"…Slenderman…" Reps quietly whispered, "I can't believe you exist…"

"Who?" Ryan stated, glancing back for a moment at Reps before looking back and noting this Slenderman getting up in his grill again, "Stop doing that you creepy fuck!"

Ryan growled in frustration, slicing at Slenderman and missing as he teleported back; at this the others tensed, awaiting just what this now named foe was capable of.

"I never thought he would truly exist…I didn't know it was him until now since I couldn't get a clear image of him…but it is him." Reps explained, "He was supposedly a myth, a strange, tall being that initially hunted young children but from what I've gathered he's changed his behavior in recent years."

"Hence why he's got us out here, hunting his notes, and all the while he hunts us." Dark growled, pulling back and launching another ball of ki at him, "You sicken me!"

"…so intriguing you all are."

The four of them went speechless at what they just heard, this Slenderman having talked as he glided about and knocked away Dark's attack like it was nothing.

"You can talk?! But how…you…you have no mouth!?" Ryan sputtered out, completely flabbergasted.

"And why should that mean I can't talk dear boy?" Slenderman scoffed, taking an amused but annoyed look on his face, "I have to say though, when I picked you four for this I had no idea it would be this much fun. You've been quite enjoyable as my prey today."

"Your prey? Peh…as if we'd lose to some freaky ass like you!" Dark shouted as he charged him, his Keysaber clashing with Slenderman's tendrils, "How they hell are you moving so fast?"

"Heh, I'm sure the raccoon dog has all you need to know." Slenderman chuckled, grabbing Dark with his tendrils and throwing him into the others, "Isn't that right…Reps?"

"You…you really aren't of this world are you? At least not in the way we know physics…and this is coming from a bio-android of all things." Reps nervously stated, "You aren't human…"

"Heh, I suppose if you must say it that way…but then again, you aren't all that human yourselves are you?" Slenderman surmised, glaring at the heroes, "A organic machine, a half-demon, and two humans that aren't like any humans I've ever encountered…this has been so delightful I'm almost sad it's going to end soon."

"The hell…it…will!" Ryan roared, flaring his aura and going super, "Let's see what you think of this you slender bitch!"

With that Ryan flew at Slenderman, clashing over and over with him as the two dodged and parried one another for what seemed forever until they finally jumped back from each other.

"Most intriguing." Slenderman remarked, grinning at this development, "Nobody has ever been able to keep pace with me like that…"

"Well then, how about we just turn it up all the way?!" Dark and Yosh shouted, flaring their ki and going super as well.

"All three of you? My my, such interesting developments."

Sprouting a few more tendrils to make eight in total, Slenderman taunted our heroes, coaxing them with the tendril tips and daring them to attack.

What followed was a blur of light, ki, and bodies as the three of them surrounded and attacked Slenderman but only succeeded in landing a few of their attacks as he moved in an inhuman manner, dodging their attacks unlike any foe they had encountered before.

"We…we can't beat…beat him." Reps nervously stated, shaking as he watched his friends barely keeping up with him even in their super forms, "Nobody has ever beaten the Slenderman…he's just beyond any kind of comprehension…and once you see him…that's it."

"Dammit Reps, we can't give up." Ryan spat out, grabbing one of Slenderman's tendrils and sliced it off, "Ha! Take that you ass!"

"…that wasn't very nice." Slenderman flatly stated, backhanding Ryan quite hard and sending him flying into Dark.

"Ryan! Dark!" Yosh shouted, eyeing Slenderman and shaking his head, "No one is unbeatable, nothing is impossible…we will not lose to some hyped up boogieman!"

"Heh, is that so? Well then, Mr. Ninja, why not show me your resolve?" Slenderman teased, taking a ready stance opposite Yosh, "Whenever you're ready…"

The two stared down one another, waiting for the moment that would determine who would move first, who would give the other the opening, and who would show their strength.

After what seemed forever, the wind whipping up around them, Yosh felt it and dashed unseen at Slenderman before appearing on the other side of him.

"Heh…not bad human." Slenderman chuckled, noting three of his tendrils falling off.

"Ugh…not bad yourself you inhuman monster." Yosh coughed out, grabbing his arm and feeling a few dreads fall off, "Damn…you!"

Yosh fell down, unable to continue fighting as the others watched in shock.

"What the hell? We've fought things ever crazier than you and won so we won't lose to you!" Dark roared, unleashing a growl that was inhuman as his ki focused and his features changed, "Let's see how you handle the power of a true demon!"

With that Dark practically teleported at Slenderman, catching him off-guard he was able to grab him and throw him up into the air.

"Demonic Special Techniques: Ki Bleed!" Dark shouted, doing his multi-hit technique on Slenderman and landing his final blow before watching him land with a thud on the ground, "Did…did that finally do it?"

Landing close to him Dark looked at his prone body and wasn't sure how to tell if he was done or not…which is why he didn't expect to be grabbed by a tendril and dragged all around as Slenderman teleported about.

"You demons…so fascinating." Slenderman quipped before spinning Dark around and tossing him in a heap next to Yosh, chuckling as he watched Dark turn back to normal, "And then there were two."

"Reps…we have to do something. Isn't there anything about this guy that is useful?" Ryan asked, noting Slenderman was just eyeing them for the moment.

"I'm not sure…wait…if we can't beat him with brute force then…but it's such a gamble." Reps muttered out, before turning and seeing Ryan hanging upside down by some tendrils.

"Well, I don't suppose it could hurt our situation!" Ryan shouted, twisting and groaning as he tried to shake free, "Dammit Reps do it before this guy does something unpleasant to me! I've seen enough hentai to know where this might be going!"

"…then I'll give it my final option!" Reps shouted, suddenly looking quite brave as he reached into his pocket and produced…  
"A twenty dollar bill?!" Ryan gasped, "How the hell is that supposed to help us?!"

Reps said nothing but stared at Slenderman as he walked forward and held out the twenty dollar bill towards him.

Slenderman regarded it for a moment, raising an eyebrow before taking the twenty and looking it over; seeming satisfied he released his hold on Ryan who crashed to the ground in a heap.

"…what? What just happened?" Ryan grumbled out, pushing up into a sitting position, "Did we just…win?"

Slenderman gave a slight chuckle at Ryan's confusion and leaned down to look at him, a grin plastered on his face.

"Dear boy, you and your friends have given me the most fun I've had in ages…and your strange metal friend here successfully understood my mythos enough to find one way of winning against me." Slenderman explained, reaching out and patting Ryan on the head, "So why should I end the fun by doing to you what I do to those that don't entertain me so?"

Ryan just stood there, a blank look on his face as he tried to process just what the hell happened.

With that Slenderman stood back up to his full height, gave a friendly wave with his tendrils, and walked off into the distance before disappearing into the flames that still burned.

As he did so, those still conscious could hear the Slenderman whistling a creepy song before stating one last thing to them.

"Heh, I'll be seeing you again someday, you're too entertaining for me not to…so I hope you four give me just as much fun then as well. Oh, yes, how could I forget?"

Ryan and Reps looked around, confused by his question until he teleported right in front of them, tendrils waving in maniacal glee.

"Boo!" Slenderman shouted, watching the two of them tense up and then pass out from being surprised, "Man, I never get tired of doing that…"

With that, he teleported away, a creepy song hanging in the air as he sang: "Slender Man, Slender Man, All the children try to run. Slender Man, Slender Man, to him its part of the fun. Slender Man, Slender Man, Dressed in darkest suit and tie. Slender Man, Slender Man, You most certainly will die~"

Ryan groaned, slowly opening his eyes and then shutting them again at how bright the sun was in the sky…until the thought dawned on him that he was alive.

Now wide awake, he looked about to see the others already awake and watching over him; a small amount of celebrating occurred to see that they had all pulled through without any major injuries and a fair amount of joking about the situation to resolve any tension they had left.

"Man am I glad that's finally over." Dark huffed, sighing loudly, "That was some creepiness with that guy…but what happened? How did we survive?"

"Heh, that's easy Dark; it's well known that Slenderman loves to go clubbing…but he never has any money." Reps explained with a grin, "It's a bit hard for the guy to get a paying job you see, so he just needed twenty dollars for the club…and then we won."

"…that's completely stupid." Yosh groaned while shaking his head, "Will someone just see if we can get a hold of Alia so we can get away from wherever we're at?"

"Okay, okay…I'm on it." Dark stated, tapping his communicator and trying to get a response.

"The one thing that still bothers me is how did we get here?" Ryan asked, puzzled by that missing information, "We were on the Outlaw Star…and then we were here in this forest. There's a large chunk of memory missing detailing how we got here…"

"You know, you're right." Yosh noted, scratching his chin in thought, "It's weird…but even I can't remember how we got here."

"Well, maybe it's for the best…who knows what terrible things might've happened that led us to the madness that was this forest?" Reps replied with a shrug, "…any luck Dark?"

"Yeah, I got in touch with Alia…she's locking on to our coordinates now." Dark stated with a smile, "Time to get away from this nightmare."

As the four waited for Alia to take them away, they were unaware that they were being observed by some sharp-dressed men, decked out in body armor with the only identifying mark being a strange, circular logo design with three arrows pointing inward located on their right sleeve.

"Sir, we have the four who successfully faced the non-entity in sight. Orders?"

"Given their abilities we can only assume they're SCP's of an unknown order…for now they seem Safe, though I'd wager them most likely in the Euclid category. However, with those abilities they showed they could easily go Keter class if they ever were to go out of control. Confront them and bring them in immediately!"

"Roger…what the hell?!"

As the squad went to move in on them, Ryan and the others were teleported away by Alia back on to the Outlaw Star.

"Sir! They just vanished!"

"What?! Wait…we detected a slight energy spike before they disappeared; it would seem they had some help."

"What should we do now sir?"

"For now return to base, until we can process this energy signal and track them down there's no need to risk being in those woods."

"Understood…moving out!"

Back on the Outlaw Star, the four heroes were catching up with Alia about what all had happened and trying to deduce who those armor clad men were that they saw rushing at them before they were teleported away.

"I'm not sure…even though I have the clearest memory of them, all I can find is a strange symbol I've never seen before." Reps noted, drawing it so the others could see it.

"That's pretty weird looking…especially with those arrows pointing inwards. I wonder what they wanted?" Dark questioned, scratching his head, "Do you think they were after Slenderman?"

"If they were they were a little too late." Ryan remarked, "Well, as long as they don't come after us we probably shouldn't worry about it."

"…perhaps." Yosh added, frowning slightly, "I just worry about the two incidents being connected somehow. I don't like it…"

"You never like anything that is puzzling dude." Ryan joked, lightly punching his arm, "Relax…we're safe and we can get back on track to finding that signal's origin."

"I suppose so…"

"Hey, by the way, what's that delicious smell Alia?" Dark asked as he sniffed the air, "Baking a pie?"

"Yup! I wasn't sure when I'd hear back from you all again, and I was worrying myself sick so Gilliam suggested I busy myself while he kept searching." Alia replied, giving a nod, "Oh! Speaking of, it should be done!"

Ryan chuckled and looked at the mini Gilliam hanging nearby with a smirk.

"So, you were worried about us huh?" Ryan teased, "I knew you cared."

"…I just couldn't stand to see Ms. Alia in such a state…that's all." Gilliam stated before disappearing into the kitchen.

The whole group laughed before heading into the kitchen, eager for a slice of the pumpkin pie Alia had cooked up…until they heard a tapping noise on the glass and went wide-eyed when they saw who was hanging outside the ship.

"I say gents, I hate to bother you but do you have another twenty you could lend me?" Slenderman asked, grinning at them from outside the ship, "You see…I spent it on this absolutely adorable plush of a child screaming in terror and now I'm broke again."

"…Reps?"

"Yeah Ryan?"

"Get the man his money! Now!"

~Hope you all enjoyed this silly little chapter I whipped up for Halloween and that you have a Happy Halloween yourselves!~


End file.
